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Civil  Service 
Administration 


By  LEONHARD  FELIX  FULD, 
LL.   M.,  Ph.  D.         " 
Sometime  Assistant  Chief  Examiner,  New  York 
Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission 


Although  the  Success  oj   a  Municipal  Administration  in  New 

York  May  Depend  Upon  Its  Police  Administration,  Its  Ffficiency 

Will  Always  Depend  Upon  Its  Civil  Service  Administration 


NEW  YORK:  BY  THE  AUTHOR 
1921 


Copyright,   1921. 
by  Lconhard  Felix  Fuld 


Civil  Service 
Administration 


By  LEONHARD  FELIX  FULD, 

LL.  M.,  Ph.  D. 

Sometime  Assistant  Chief  Examiner,  New  York 

Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission 


Although  the  Success  oj   a  Municipal  Administration  in  New 

York  May  Depend  Upon  Its  Police  Administration,  Its  Efficiency 

Will  Always  Depend  Upon  Its  Civil  Service  Administration 


i 
i 


NEW  YORK:  BY  THE  AUTHOR 
1921 


Ah 

CONTENTS 


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CHAPTER   ONE— THE    CIVIL   SERVICE    FUNCTION 3 

Section    One— The    Past 3 

Definition  Scope 

Free   Appointment  Effect 

History  Development 

Section    Two — The    Present 6 

Cooperation 

Scope  of  Examinations  Service  Records 

Improper  Assignments 
Kinds  of  Examination 

Physical    Examinations  Character  Examinations 

Practical  Tests  Experience  Tests 

Oral  Tests  Non-Competitive   Examinations 

Non-Assembled  Tests 

Section   Three— The    Future 14 

Relations  with  Mayor 

Permanent   Commission 
Relations  with  Heads  of  Departments 

Budgetary  Problems  Transfers 

Discipline  Dismissals 

Assignments 
Relations  With  Employees 

Assistance     ^  Service  Instruction 

Standardization  of  Examinations       Recreation 

CHAPTER   TWO— THE    EXAMINING    DIVISION 24 

Section     One — Organization     24 

Chief  Examiner 

Assistant  Chief  Examiner  in  Charge  of  Examinations 
Executive  Duties  Recommending  Examinations 

Planning  Duties 

Assistant  Chief  Examiner  in   Charge  of   Rating 
Assistant  Chief  Examiner  in   Charge  of  Salaries 
Examiners 
Advisory  Board 
Clerical  Assistance 

Section    Two — Functions 32 

Anticipating  Needs  of  Service  ^  Non-Assembled   Examinations 

Fixing  Conditions  of  Examinations      Character   Investigation 
Medical  Examinations  Service  Records 

Written  Examinations  Non-Competitive  Examinations 

Practical  Examinations  Promotion  Examinations 

Oral   Examinations 

Section     Three— Methods     42 

Labor  Turnover 

Critical  Study  Methods 

Anticipating   Needs   of  Service 
Medical  Examinations 
Practical  Examinations 
Oral  and  Non-Assembled  Examinations 

Substitutes 
Experience    Ratings 

Factors  Qualitative  Rating 

Library  Standardization 

Service    Instruction  Fairness 

Progress  of  Examinations  Service   Records 

Control  of  Salaries  Planning  of  Work 

Promotion    Examinations  Specialization 

CHAPTER  THREE— THE   CHIEF  EXAMINER   59 

Importance  of  Position 

Qualifications 

Relation   to  Commission 

Relation  to  Departments 

Office  Management 

Conclusion 


CHAPTER  ONE 


The  Civil  Service  Function 


SECTION  ONE— THE  PAST. 

aEFINITION.  Civil  service  administration  has  in 
the  past  been  that  branch  of  the  public  service  which 
has  jurisdiction  over  the  selection  of  civilian  employes 
required  to  carry  on  the  public  business.  In  most  cases 
these  employes  have  been  selected  by  means  of  competetive 
tests.  With  the  recent  introduction  of  service  records,  the 
recent  development  of  promotion  examinations  and  the 
prosecution  of  efficiency  studies,  the  sphere  of  the  civil  ser- 
vice administration  has  been  gradually  enlarged,  and  when 
the  present  day  interest  in  salary  classification,  in  service 
instruction  and  in  centralized  disciplinary  control  has  been 
crystalized  into  legislation,  civil  service  administration  will 
include  most  of  the  activities  whch  in  private  life  are  com- 
prehended within  the  field  of  employment  management. 

FREE  APPOINTMENT,  (i)  In  the  history  of  public 
administration,  the  era  of  the  free  uncontrolled  appointment 
of  subordinates  preceded  the  era  of  civil  service  administra- 
tion. When  the  public  officer  was  free  to  appoint  his  own 
subordinates,  he  carried  full  responsibility  for  the  acts  and 
the  character  of  the  employes  selected  by  him  (2).  This  prin- 
ciple of  the  uncontrolled  power  of  appointment  and  unlimited 
responsibility  would  have  been  found  practicable  and  satis- 
factory but  for  the  fact  that  this  branch  of  public  adminis- 
tration became  infected  at  an  early  day  by  what  has  been 


(i)  The  footnotes  contain  references  to  books  and  periodicals 
where  the  reader  may  find  a  more  detailed  account  of  matters 
treated  briefly  in  this  monograph.  These  references  have  been  taken 
from  the  author's  unpublished  Civil  Service  Bibliography. 

(2)  The  Law  of  Officers,  Law  Students'  Helper,  1905. 


5694 IG 


called  by  President  Gilman  the  Bacillus  Tennessee nis  (3) 
and  what  is  commonly  called  the  spoils  system.  Under  this 
system  which  was  introduced  into  the  national  government  by 
President  Andrew  Jackson,  all  of  the  subordinate  positions 
in  the  public  service  were  filled  by  persons  of  the  same  po- 
litical party  as  the  head  of  the  Governmenit,  both  for  the  sake 
of  securing  loyalty  and  for  the  purpose  of  rewarding  faithful 
party  service.  The  spoils  system  limits  the  power  of  free 
appointment  to  almost  as  great  an  extent  as  the  civil  service 
administration,  but  since  this  power  is  not  legally  controlled 
in  any  manner  under  the  spoils  system,  it  becomes  burden- 
some to  the  executive  and  wasteful  to  the  government. 

HISTORY.  In  the  historical  development  of  civil  service 
administration,  there  were  three  stages,  the  qualifying  ex- 
amination, the  non-competitive  examination  and  the  com- 
petitive examination.  The  qualifying  examination  system, 
under  which  no  person  may  be  appointed  until  he  has  been 
found  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  position  which 
he  seeks,  is  based  upon  the  principle  that  if  a  man  is  merely 
worthy  of  a  place  he  may  be  appointed,  even  though  there 
are  better  qualified  men  seeking  the  same  position.  Some  ad- 
vocates of  this  system  even  seriously  contended  that  public 
places  were  gratuities  to  be  distributed  equally  and  that  jus- 
tice required  that  better  men  be  excluded  in  some  cases  in  or- 
der that  inferior  men  might  be  appointed.  The  qualifying 
examination  was  based  upon  the  motto  of  detur  digno  (4). 

The  quaHfying  examination  was  first  displaced  by  the 
non-competitive  examination.  Under  this  system  the  quali- 
fications of  persons  nominated  for  examination  by  the  ap- 
pointing officer  are  graded  by  a  board  of  examiners.  This 
is  essentially  a  compromise  system,  since  it  retains  the 
principle  that  no  person  may  be  admitted  to  the  examination 
unless  designated  by  the  appointing  officer.  It  is  also  a 
distinct  advance  since  it  recognizes  that  the  probability  of 
appointment  is  influenced  as  well  by  the  personal  worth  of 


(3)  The  Launching  of  a  University,  Gilman,  p.  342. 

(4)  United  States  Revised  Statutes,  Sec.  164  [1853]. 


the  applicant  as  by  the  law  of  the  appointing  officer.     Its 
motto  is  detiir  dignior  (5). 

At  the  present  day  the  fundamental  principle  of  civil 
service  administration  in  the  case  of  all  positions  to  whieh 
it  is  believed  applicable  is  that  of  detur  dignissimo,  which 
assumes  that  since  the  public  service  is  the  work  of  the 
people  it  is  ito  exist  exclusively  for  the  benefit  of  the  peo- 
ple, who  are  entitled  to  the  appointment  of  the  employes  of 
the  best  talent  and  the  highest  character  obtainable  by 
open  competition.  Under  this  system,  if  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  a  right  to  public  employment,  that  right  belongs 
first  to  the  most  worthy  (6). 

SCOPE.  The  development  of  the  civil  service  ad- 
ministration in  New  Y(Drk  City  has  been  gradual.  The  first 
civil  service  statute  excluded  from  the  operation  of  the 
civil  service  law  not  only  elected  officials  and  persons  nom- 
inated by  the  Mayor  and  confirmed  by  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men, but  also  all  employes  of  the  Police,  Health,  Fire,  Edu- 
cation and  Law  Departments,  as  well  as  persons  required  to 
furnish  bonds  for  the  safekeeping  of  public  funds^. 

By  the  next  statute  there  were  exempted  in  addition  to 
elected  officials  and  employes  of  the  Department  of  Educa- 
tion, only  heads  of  departments,  employes  having  custody 
of  public  funds  and  those  for  whose  errors  a  public  official 
may  be  financially  responsible^.  At  the  present  day  only 
elected  officials,  employes  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  and  of 
the  Board  of  Elections,  heads  of  departments,  and  superin- 
tendents, principals  and  teachers  in  the  public  schools  are 
exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  civil  service  law  in  the 
City  of  New  York^. 

EFFECT.  The  civil  service  administration  pro- 
vides a  democratic,  economical  and  scientific  solution  of 


(5)  United   States   Revised  Statutes,    Sec   1753    [1871]. 

(6)  Police  Administration,  p.  79. 

7  Laws  of  New  York,  1883,  chaip.  354. 

8  Laws  of  New  York,  1884,  chap.  410. 

5  Laws  of  New  York,  1909,  chap.  15.,  sec.  9,  Consolidated  Laws, 
chap.  7,  sec.  9. 

5 


the  problems  of  personnel  connected  with  municipal  ad- 
ministration. It  is  democratic  because  its  activities  give  an 
equal  chance  to  all,  irrespective  of  race,  creed,  color,  pre- 
vious condition  or  political  affiliation.  It  is  economical  be- 
cause it  makes  certain  that  ever>-  appointee  is  competent  to 
perform  the  duties  of  the  position  which  he  seeks,  instead 
of  leaving  the  testing  of  the  fitness  of  applicants  to  an  ap- 
pointing officer  who  may  be  either  unable  or  unwilling  to 
Perform  this  function.  It  is  scientific  because  it  provides 
]pT  the  performance  of  the  city's  business  a  stafif  of  expert 
rorkers  with  a  permanent  tenure  during  good  behavior.^'' 

DEVELOPMENT.  A  fourth  attribute  is  being 
Jowly  engrafted  upon  the  civil  service  administration ; 
that  attribute  is  that  it  is  becoming  practical.  Until  a  com- 
paratively recent  date  the  civil  service  administration 
cherished  a  spirit  of  aloofness.  It  based  its  tests  upon 
academic  subjects  closely  correlated  to  the  curricula  of 
schools  and  colleges.  It  sought  to  test  the  applicants'  gen- 
eral education  and  mental  fitness.  In  its  practical  develop- 
ment it  is  making  its  relation  and  its  co-operation  with  ap- 
pointing officers  closer  day  by  day.  Its  tests  are  becoming 
more  and  more  tests  of  the  applicant's  fitness  to  perform 
the  duties  of  the  position  which  he  seeks  rather  than  edu- 
iSitional  tests.  Its  efforts  are  being  directed  to  correlating 
its  tests  to  the  duties  of  the  position  to  be  filled  instead  of 
to  the  curricula  of  schools  and  colleges,    v 

SECTION  TWO— THE  PRESENT. 

CO-OPERATION.    At  the  present  time  the  Civil  Serv- 

Commission^  seeks  to  co-operate  with  appointing  officers  to 
the  fullest  extent,  consistent  with  the  integrity  of  the  exami- 
nations and  with  absolute  fairness  to  all  candidates.  This  co- 
operation has  been  developed  principally  in  the  planning  of 


10  The  American  City,  a  Problem  in  Democracy, \fVilc/)x,  p.  298. 

1  Whenever  the  phrase,  "The  Civil  Service  Commission,"  is  used 
in  this  paper  reference  is  made  to  "The  Municipal  Civil  Service 
Commission  of  New  York." 


the  scope  of  examination,  in  the  establishment  and  mainte- 
nance of  service  records  and  in  the  correction  of  improper 
assignments. 

SCOPE  OF  EXAMINATIONS.  Whenever  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  receives  from  a  department  a 
request  to  hold  an  examination  an  examiner  is  assigned  by 
the  chief  examiner  to  make  an  investigation  of  the  duties 
of  the  position  and  of  the  qualifications  which  the  incum- 
bent should  possess.  This  investigation  includes  also  the 
observation  by  the  examiner  of  employes  occupying  similar 
positions  in  the  municipal  service  and  in  private  life,  and 
inquiries  among  municipal  officials,  private  employers  and 
the  examiners  who  prepared  and  the  examiners  who  rated 
the  preceding  examination  for  the  same  position  with  a  view 
to  availing  himself  of  their  experience  in  the  preparation 
of  his  report^.  The  entire  scope  of  the  examination,  in- 
cluding both  the  preliminary  requirements  demanded  for 
eligibility  fof  examination  and  the  subjects  of  the  examina- 
tion, is  discussed  with  the  appointing  officer,  care  being 
exercised  by  the  examiner  to  give  the  appointing  officer  no 
information  regarding  the  questions  to  be  asked  or  the 
tests  to  be  used  in  the  actual  examination. 

SERVICE  RECORDS.  Uniform  records  of  the  effici- 
ency and  punctuality  of  all  employes  in  the  competitive 
class^  in  each  department  of  the  municipal  government  are 
prepared  three  times  a  year  by  the  supervising  officials  of 
each  department  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  Civil  Service  Commission^.  Before  being  sub- 
mitted to  the  Civil  Service  Commission  for  approval  these 


2  Employment  Methods  in  the  Public  Service,  Industrial  Manage- 
ment, May,  1917. 

3  The  classified  civil  service  of  the  city  is  divided  into  four 
classes:  Exemp't,  labor,  non-competitive  and  competitive  classes. 
[Laws  of  New  York,  1909,  chap.  15,  sec.  12;  Consolidated  Laws, 
chap.  7,  sec.  12]. 

4  New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Regulation  XIII, 


records  are  reviewed  by  departmental  bureau  or  inter- 
bureau  committees  and  by  the  Personnel  Board  of  each 
department.  An  examiner  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission 
is  assigned  to  attend  each  meeting  of  the  Personnel  Board 
of  the  department  to  which  he  is  assigned  and  as  many  of 
the  meetings  of  the  bureau  committees  of  his  department 
as  he  may  deem  necessary  or  as  may  be  practicable.  By 
the  attendance  of  an  examiner  at  the  meetings  at  which 
the  service  records  are  prepared  and  reviewed  the  Civil 
Service  Commission  seeks  to  assist  the  departments  in  the 
performance  of  this  duty  required  under  the  Civil  Service 
rules^  and  incidentally  it  is  enabled  to  secure  greater  uni- 
formity in  the  rating  practice  of  the  various  departments 
by  the  presence  of  this  expert  in  service  record  rating  at 
these  meetings. 

IMPROPER  ASSIGNMENTS.  The  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission must  take  cognizance  of  the  improper  assignment 
of  an  employe  which  is  brought  to  its  attention^.  If  a 
department  were  permitted  to  assign  a  laborer,  who  ob- 
tains his  position  by  reason  of  the  priority  of  his  applica- 
tion without  any  test  of  his  fitness  to  perform  the  duties  of 
a  janitor,  this  would  not  only  enable  a  department  to 
nullify  the  purpose  and  spirit  of  civil  service  administra- 
tion, but  it  might  also  endanger  the  interests  of  the  public 
if  an  untested  and  incompetent  employe  were  assigned  in 
this  manner. 

The  correction  of  these  improper  assignments  involves 
much  tact  and  astuteness.  If  the  Civil  Service  Commission 
in  its  efforts  to  refrain  from  interfering  with  the  internal 
administration  of  the  departments  refers  such  complaints 
to  the  department  affected  for  investigation  and  report,  the 
appointing  officer  will  seldom  admit  that  the  assignment  is 
improper.  If  an  investigator  of  the  Commission  is  as- 
signed  to   make   the   investigation   and   the   Civil    Service 


5  New    York    Municipal    Civil    Service    Commission,    Rule    XV. 
clause  22. 

8  New  York  Municiipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Rule  II,  clause  5. 

8 


Commission  takes  action  upon  his  report,  there  is  grave 
danger  of  conflicts  between  the  Commission  and  the  de- 
partment affected,  both  because  of  the  department's  re- 
sentment of  outside  interference  and  the  possibility  that 
the  investigator  may  fail  to  understand  fully  the  attitude 
of  the  department  in  each  case.  By  ordering  an  indepen- 
dent investigation  of  each  case  by  its  own  investigators  and 
submitting  the  essential  facts  of  the  investigator's  report 
to  the  appointing  officer  for  comment  before  taking  action 
upon  it,  the  Civil  Service  Commission  is  enabled  to  carry  on 
this  activity  for  the  proper  enforcement  of  the  Civil  Service 
law  with  a  maximum  of  friendly  co-operation  and  a  mini- 
mum of  resentment  and  friction  with  appointing  officers. 

KINDS  OF  EXAMINATION.  In  the  history  of  civil 
service  administration  all  tests  were  at  first  written  tests 
exclusively,  and  these  tests  were  closely  correlated  with  the 
work  of  the  educational  institutions  from  which  the  ap- 
plicants were  recruited.  These  early  civil  service  tests 
were  tests  of  the  applicants'  general  education  and  this  is 
the  principle  upon  which  the  civil  service  tests  in  Great 
Britain  and  in  some  of  the  cities  and  states  in  this  country 
are  based.  In  New  York  City,  however,  the  object  of  the 
civil  service  tests  is  to  measure  and  to  grade  on  a  com- 
petitive scale  the  fitness  of  the  applicants  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  position  which  each  seeks.  It  is  apparent  that 
written  tests  are  not  always  the  best  tests  of  such  potential 
fitness. 

PHYSICAL  EXAMINATIONS.  In  the  case  of  firemen 
and  similarly,  though  not  to  as  great  an  extend  in  the  case 
of  policemen,  physical  strength  is  of  more  importance  than 
mental  ability.  In  the  case  of  applicants  for  these  two 
positions,  and  a  few  similar  positions,  the  greatest  em- 
phasis is  placed  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission  upon  the 
medical  and  physical  examination.  In  the  actual  adminis- 
tration of  these  examinations,  more  than  half  of  the  candi- 
dates are  rejected  in  the  physical  examination  and  very 
few  of  those  who  qualify  in  the  physical  examination  fail 


to  qualify  in  the  written  tests.  An  elaborate  system  of 
medical  and  physical  examination,  including  a  large  num- 
ber of  strength  tests  rated  on  a  competitive  scale  has  been 
adopted  to  test  applicants  for  these  positions.  This  physi- 
cal examination  for  policemen  and  firemen  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  comprehensive  physical  examination  in  the  United 
States,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  physical  examina- 
tion of  applicants  for  the  United  States  Army  Aviation 
Corps^. 

Every  applicant  for  a  position  in  the  competitive  class 
is  given  a  medical  examination  by  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission, both  for  the  protection  of  the  employes  already  in 
the  service  from  infection  and  to  make  certain  that  the 
applicant  possesses  the  physical  ability  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  position  which  he  seeks.  These  medical  tests 
are  graded  in  four  groups,  ranging  from  the  first  group 

\consisting  of  a  simple  medical  inspection  and  a  test  of 
vision  in  the  case  of  clerical  positions,  the  incumbents  of 
which  require  the  least  degree  of  physical  ability  and  in- 
cur no  physical  risk,  through  the  second  and  third  groups, 
consisting  of  a  more  thorough  medical  examination  in  the 
case  of  positions  in  the  inspectional  service  and  the  labor 
class,  which  require  respectively  a  moderate  degree  ot 
physical  ability,  such  as  would  enable  an  incumbent  to 
walk  long  distances,  and  a  high  degree  of  physical  ability 

\.  such  as  would  enable  the  incumbent  not  only  to  perform 
severe  manual  labor,  but  also  to  care  for  himself  in  acci- 
dents, to  the  fourth  group  which  comprises  the  most  com- 
prehensive medical,  physical  and  strength  tests  for  positions 
in  the  police  and  fire  service^. 

PRACTICAL  TESTS.  For  positions  which  require  of 
their  incumbents  motor  activities  in  place  of  or  in  addition 
to  ideo-motor  activities,  a  written  test  is  not  an  adequate 
test  of  fitness.    For  such  positions  the  written  test  is  sup- 


7  Police  Examinations,  American  Physical  Education  Review,  1908, 

8  New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commiission,  Physical  Stand- 
ards,  1 91 6. 


10 


plemented  or  supplanted  by  a  practical  test.  Gardeners  are 
given  a  practical  test  in  the  use  of  tools,  in  transplanting 
and  in  their  familiarity  with  trees  and  shrubs.  The  writ- 
ten civil  service  examination  is  supplemented  in  the  case 
of  inspectors  of  plumbing  by  a  practical  test  in  the  wiping  J 
of  joints,  in  the  case  of  stationary  engineers  by  a  practical 
test  in  the  operation  of  an  engine,  in  the  case  of  pilots  by  a 
practical  test  in  the  navigation  of  boats,  in  the  case  of 
nurses  by  a  practical  test  in  first  aid  work  and  the  care  of 
the  sick  and  in  the  case  of  playground  attendants  by  a 
l^ersonal  demonstration  in  a  playground.  Not  only  are 
these  practical  tests,  either  alone  or  in  conjunction  with 
written  tests  a  better  measure  of  the  applicant's  ability  to 
perform  the  duties  of  the  position  sought,  but  they  also 
overcome  one  of  the  most  common  criticisms  of  the  oppon- 
ents of  civil  service  administration  that  success  in  such 
tests  depends  entirely  upon  literary  ability,  irrespective  of 
the  needs  of  the  position  sought. 

ORAL  TESTS.  The  written  examination  is  sometimes 
supplemented  by  an  oral  test  in  cases  in  which  the  Civil 
Service  Commission  feels  that  the  personality  of  the  appli- 
cant, his  resourcefulness,  his  influence  upon  the  public  and 
upon  subordinates,  his  tact,  his  quickness  of  mental  reac- 
tion and  his  personal  force  and  magnetism  are  very  impor- 
tant elements  in  determining  his  suitability  for  appointment 
to  the  position  which  he  is  seeking.  These  tests  are  also 
/sometimes  used  in  an  attempt  to  place  a  correct  value  upon 
the  quality  of  an  applicant's  experience. 

NON-ASSEMBLED  TESTS.  For  high  grade  positions 
for  which  the  Civil  Service  Commission  desires  to  obtain 
as  applicants  the  best  qualified  men  and  women  throughout 
the  United  States  and  in  which  it  is  feared  that  persons 
eminent  in  their  respective  fields  would  be  reluctant  to  come 
to  New  York  for  an  assembled  written  examination,  a  non- 
assembled  examination  is  sometimes  held.  These  non- 
assembled  examinations  are  of  two  kinds.  For  the  highest 
grade   of   positions  the   non-assembled   test   consists    of    a 

II 


statement  of  the  applicant's  professional  experience,  sub- 
mitted by  each  applicant  in  full  detail  and  graded  on  a 
competitive  scale  by  the  examiners.  For  other  positions  of 
a  high  grade  each  candidate  is  required  to  prepare  a  thesis 
on  an  assigned  subject  and  to  submit  it  to  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  for  rating  within  ai  specified  time.  When  such 
a  thesis  is  required  an  experience  paper  and  an  oral  test  are 
usually  made  a  part  of  the  non-assembled  test.  The  princi- 
pal function  of  the  experience  paper  which  contains  a  de- 
tailed account  of  each  applicant's  professional  training  and 
experience  is  to  bar  from  the  examination  those  who  are 
obviously  unfit  and  to  grade  the  experience  of  the  appli- 
cants on  a  competitive  scale,  while  the  principal  function  of 
the  oral  test  is  to  grade  the  personality  of  each  applicant. 

CHARACTER  EXAMINATIONS.  All  applicants  for 
positions  in  the  competitive  class  are  subjected  to  a  care- 
ful character  investigation  before  their  names  are  placed 
upon  an  eligible  list.  The  purpose  of  this  character  in- 
vestigation is  to  detect  any  misstatements  which  the  appli- 
cant may  have  made  in  the  statement  of  his  business  ex- 
perience on  the  experience  paper  rated  as  one  of  the  sub 
jects  of  the  examination  and  to  disclose  any  events  in  the 
applicant's  life  which  would  tend  to  reflect  unfavorably 
upon  his  usefulness  as  a  municipal  employe.  This  investi- 
gation is  conducted  principally  by  means  of  an  oral  inter- 
view of  the  applicant  by  an  investigator  and  by  correspon- 
dence with  the  applicant's  former  employers.  These  routine 
procedures  are  supplemented  when  necessary  by  personal 
iield  investigation. 

Thi^  character  investigation  should  be  clearly  differen- 
tiated from  the  oral  tests.  The  result  of  the  character  in- 
vestigation is  either  the  confirmation  of  the  applicant's 
standing  on  the  eligible  list  or  his  removal  from  the  eligible 
list  and  the  placing  of  his  name  on  the  list  of  persons  dis- 
qualified for  the  public  service.  The  oral  test  on  the  other 
hand  is  a  part  of  the  examination  conducted  by  the  ex- 
aminers of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  in  which  each 

12 


applicant  is  given  a  competitive  rating,  forming  one  of  the 
elements  that  determine  the  applicant's  relative  standing 
on  the  eligible  list. 

EXPERIENCE  TESTS.  For  most  positions  other  than 
those  of  a  clerical  nature  no  application  is  accepted  by  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  unless  it  shows  that  the  applicant 
has  had  practical  experience  in  work  of  the  kind  for  which 
he  is  applying  or  in  other  work  tending  to  fit  him  for  this 
position,  of  a  quantity  and  a  quality  which  in  the  judgment 
of  the  examiners  is  sufficient.  This  preliminary  experience 
requirement  fulfills  two  useful  purposes.  It  makes  certain 
that  every  applicant  has  had  practical  experience  and  not 
merely  obtained  his  knowledge  of  the  subject  from  books, 
and  it  reduces  the  waste  incident  to  the  rating,  in  these 
widely-advertised  examinations,  of  the  papers  of  hundreds 
of  applicants  who  are  certain  to  fail  in  the  written  ex- 
amination because  of  lack  of  previous  experience.  The 
experience  paper,  which  gives  the  life  history  of  the  appli- 
cant on  a  single  sheet,  is  rated  on  a  competitive  scale  and 
those  who  fail  to  receive  the  passing  mark  of  seventy  per 
cent,  which  is  given  to  those  meeting  the  minimum  re- 
>/quirements  of  the  announcement  of  the  examination  are 
rejected^. 

NON-COMPETITIVE  EXAMINATIONS.  There  are 
thousands  of  positions  in  the  municipal  service  outside  of 
the  competitive  class  which  it  is  not  practicable  to  fill  by 
means  of  competitive  examination,  either  because  the  sal- 
aries are  too  lov/,  because  the  conditions  of  employment  in 
penal  or  charitable  institutions  are  undesirable,  or  because 
the  tenure  of  the  employe  is  too  short.  Most  of  these  posi- 
tions are  in  hospitals  and  prisons,  and  they  may  be  divided 
into  two  general  classes.  The  first  class  consists  of  posi- 
tions, the  salaries  of  which  are  very  small,  or  the  tenure  of 
the  incumbents  of  which  is  very  short*^,  and  the  second 


9  See  advertisemenits  of  examinations  in  New  York  City  Record. 

10  Not  more  than  four  months   {Rule  XII,  clause  3]. 

13 


class  consists  of  positions  requiring  some  professional  or 
practical  experience,  which  are  sought  principally  for  the 
incidental  training  received  by  the  incumbents.  In  the  case 
of  positions  properly  falling  within  the  non-competitive 
class,  the  Civil  Service  Commission  has  found  it  impracti- 
cable to  conduct  any  examination  of  the  applicants  in  most 
cases.  With  the  exception  of  the  lowest  paid  employes  of 
this  class  who  are  usually  former  inmates  of  the  institu- 
tions in  which  they  are  serving,  the  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sion makes  a  careful  investigation  of  the  character  of  each 
applicant  and  also  makes  certain  that  those  employes  who 
are  by  law  required  to  possess  certain  educational  or  license 
qualifications  actually  possess  the  qualifications  required 
by  law. 

SECTION   THREE— THE   FUTURE. 

lELATIONS  WITH  MAYOR.    The  members  of  tU 

I  Civil  Service  Commission  are  at  present  normally 

^^^  appointed  by  the  mayor^  who  has  the  power  to  re- 
move at  his  pleasure  any  civil  service  commissioner 
appointed  by  him.^  Under  these  provisions  of  the  law  each 
mayor  at  the  commencement  of  his  term  of  office  usually 
appoints  three  civil  service  commissioners  of  whom  two  are 
usually  of  his  own  political  party.  These  men  have  gener- 
ally had  no  previous  experience  in  civil  service  administra- 
tion and  as  the  term  of  the  mayor  is  four  years  they  never 
serve  more  than  four  years  unless  they  are  reappointed  by 
a  succeeding  mayor. 

The  disadvantages  of  this  system  are  that  there  is  no 
continuity  of  administrative  policy  in  the  Civil  Service 
Commission ;  that  at  the  beginning  of  each  municipal 
administration  when  the  most  important  civil  service  prob- 
lems must  be  considered  all  of  the  commissioners  are  In- 
experienced ;   and  that  although   these   commissioners   de- 


1  Laws  of  New  York,  1901,  chap.  466,  sec.  123,  New  York  Charter. 

2  Laws  of  N.ew  York,  1909,  chap.  15,  sec.  11;  Consolidated  La\vs, 
chap.  7,  sec.  11. 

14 


cide  questions  of  a  quasi-judicial  nature  which  are  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  efficiency  of  the  municipal  gov- 
ernment and  the  welfare  of  thousands  of  municipal  em- 
ployes who  have  life  positions  in  the  city  service  during 
good  behavior,  the  mayor  is  able  by  the  use  of  his  power 
of  appointment  and  his  power  of  removal  of  these  civil 
service  commissioners  to  influence  their  action  almost  com- 
pletely in  accordance  with  whatever  his  own  policies  may  be. 

PERMANENT  COMMISSION.  To  secure  a  fearless 
and  impartial  administration  of  the  civil  service  law  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  should  be  semi-independent  of  * 
the  mayor  and  to  secure  an  efficient  administration  of  the 
law  it  should  be  a  permanent  body  of  public  officials  pos-i/ 
sessing  continuity  of  administrative  policy.  These  results 
may  be  accomplished  by  providing  for  a  board  of  three 
members,  not  more  than  two  of  whom  shall  belong  to  the 
same  political  party,  each  of  whom  shall  have  a  six-year 
term  and  one  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  by  the  mayor 
every  other  year.  Under  such  a  systerh  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  would  always  have  two  experienced  members, 
the  mayor  would  only  control  one  member  of  the  com- 
mission at  the  commencement  of  his  term  of  office  when 
the  most  important  civil  service  problems  are  usually  de- 
cided and  would  not  control  a  majority  of  the  commis- 
sioners until  the  second  half  of  his  administration.  The 
two  experienced  members  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission 
would  not  only  insure  continuity  of  administrative  policy 
but  would  also  be  able  to  educate  the  new  member  intro- 
duced into  the  Commission  every  second  year.^ 

It  is  not  desirable  to  advocate  the  appointment  of  the 
civil  service  commissioners  by  a  central  state  authority 
such  as  the  governor  or  the  state  civil  service  commission 
because  the  civil  service  function  is  so  important  that  it 
should  be  left  within  the  realm  of  local  home  rule  as  far 
as  practicable.     Civil  service  commissioners  should,  how- 


3  Civil  Service  Law  for  Cities,  sec.  i,  National  Civil  Service  Re- 
form Leagxie,  1912. 

15 


ever,  not  be  removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  mayor;  they 
y  should  be  removable  only  after  a  trial  on  charges  before  a 
judicial  authority  such  as  the  Appellate  Division  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  The  greater  security  of  tenure  which  such 
a  provision  of  the  law  would  guarantee  would  be  certain 
to  result  in  a  more  fearless  and  more  impartial  civil  service 
administration  in  the  city. 

RELATIONS  WITH  HEADS  OF  DEPARTMENTS. 
It  was  only  ten  years  ago  that  the  writer  received  from  the 
late  chief  examiner  the  instruction  to  disregard  in  the 
preparation  of  examinations  all  suggestions  of  appomting 
officers  since  such  suggestions  were  in  his  opinion  generally 
made  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  spirit  of  the  civil 
service  law.  Although  the  Civil  Service  Commission  no 
longer  maintains  this  position  of  aloofness  there  are  many 
respects  in  which  its  relations  with  appointing  officers  may 
be  improved  for  the  betterment  of  the  service.  The  pro- 
vision of  the  rules  that  no  employe  of  any  municipal  de- 
partment shall  act  as  an  examiner'*  should  be  retained  and 
every  precaution  observed  at  present  to  safeguard  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  examinations  from  improper  influence  or  in- 
terference by  any  officer  or  any  employe  of  a  municipal  de- 
partment should  be  zealously  guarded.  But  after  strength- 
ening these  bulwarks  all  the  efforts  of  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  should  be  directed  to  extending  to  appointing 
officers  all  possible  expert  assistance  in  problems  affecting 
the  personnel  of  their  respective  departments. 

BUDGETARY  PROBLEMS.  A  representative  of  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  should  confer  with  the  head  of 
each  department  each  year  when  that  official  is  engaged  in 
preparing  his  annual  budget  and  give  to  that  official  every 
pos'^ible  assistance  in  the  solution  of  the  personnel  prob- 
lems which  present  themselves  for  solution  at  that  time. 
When  new  positions  are  created  the  method  of  filling  them, 
by  the  assignment  of  employes  already  in  the  department, 


4  New  York  Alunicipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Rule  3,  clause  "?. 

16 


by  the  transfer  of  employes  from  another  department,  by 
the  promotion  of  employes  in  the  department  or  by  the 
appointment  of  a  new  employe  as  the  result  of  a  competitive 
fccamination,  should  be  carefully  considered  and  arrangc- 
ijents  made  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  head  of  depart- 
ment without  unnecessary  delay,  if  these  wishes  are  not  in 
yiolation  of  the  civil  service  law. 

No  new  position  should  be  created  in  an  annual  depart- 
/nental  budget  or  at  any  time  during  the  year  unless  the 
title  of  such  position  has  first  been  approved  by  the  Civil 
Service  Commission.  The  present  procedure  whereby  such 
titles  are  suggested  by  the  Bureau  of  Personal  Service  and 
established  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
and  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen  without  consultation  with 
the  Civil  Service  Commission  frequently  results  in  the  crea- 
tion of  administrative  perplexities  and  individual  hard- 
ship to  employes  which  could  be  easily  avoided  by  sub- 
mitting such  new  titles  to  the  Civil  Service  Commission  foi 
approval  before  they  are  established. 

DISCIPLINE.  Employes  in  the  municipal  service  fre- 
quently suffer  serious  injustice  by  reason  of  their  unjust 
removal  from  the  position  which  they  hold.-  Such  removal 
may  be  accomplished  either  by  a  dismissal  after  charges 
have  been  preferred  and  an  opportunity  given  to  the  em- 
ploye to  make  an  explanation  or  by  the  abolition  of  the 
position  held  by  the  employe  and  the  placing  of  his  name 
on  a  preferred  eligible  list.  Although  it  is  believed  that 
such  cases  of  injustice  are  not  greater  in  number  in  the 
municipal  service  than  in  private  life  and  are  probably 
fewer,  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  enormous  labor 
turn-over  in  private  employment  will  realize  that  even 
though  smaller  in  number  such  cases  of  unjust  removal 
exert  a  most  baneful  influence  upon  the  esprit  du  corps  of 
the  municipal  employes,  because  of  their  greater  average  in- 
^.ellectual  ability.^    Municipal  employes  resent  the  fact  that 


5  Improved  Improved    Disciplinary   Methods    for   Employes, 
American    Industries,   May.    1916. 

17 


«fter  competing  with  hundreds  or  thousands  of  appHcants 
in  open  competition  for  the  position  which  they  hold  and 
succeeding  in  obtaining  the  position  in  such  open  compe- 
tition, the  whim  or  caprice  of  one  supervisor  after  they 
have  performed  the  duties  of  the  position  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  several  supervising  officials,  may  result  in  the  dis- 
missal after  the  formality  of  an  opportunity  to  explain  the 
charges  preferred  against  them. 

The  privilege  granted  by  statute^  is  regarded  by  the  em- 
ployes as  a  mere  formality  because  the  head  of  a  depart- 
ment is  the  sole  judge  of  the  facts  adduced  at  the  hearing 
and  because  his  decision  is  final  and  not  reviewable  by  any 
administrative  or  judicial  authority,  r  The  employes  fur- 
thermore resent  the  fact  that  the  hea'^of  department  acts 
both  as  prosecutor,  through  his  subordinate  the  immediate 
supervisor  of  the  employe  affected,  and  as  judge.  They 
argue  that  an  impartial  decision  is  seldom  obtained  under 
such  a  system  in  which  the  judge  is  not  a  disinterested  im- 
partial student  of  the  facts  adduced  at  the  hearing,  i 

ASSIGNMENTS.  The  problem  of  the  treatment  of  the 
personnel  under  civil  service  administration  is  further  com- 
plicated by  the  provision  of  the  rules  requiring  the  assign- 
ment of  employes  to  duties  appropriate  to  their  respective 
titles.'^  Although  this  provision  of  the  rules  is  necessary 
to  prevent  the  nullification  of  the  spirit  of  the  civil  service 
law  it  sometimes  hampers  an  appointing  officer  who  wishes 
to  retain  an  incompetent  employe  in  a  position  the  duties 
(/of  which  he  is  competent  to  perform.  A  superannuated 
inspector  may  be  utilized  as  an  attendant  in  a  plan  room, 
a  sick  laborer  may  be  able  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  clerk 
or  an  inefficient  law  clerk  the  duties  of  a  court  stenographer. 
The  proper  treatment  of  the  labor  turnover  involves  also 
the  readjustment  of  thousands  of  square  pegs  in  round 
holes  by  the  reassignment  of  these  employes  to  duties  for 
which  each  appears  to  be  better  fitted.    Since  such  reassign- 


•Laws  of  New  York,  1901,  chap.  466,  sec.  1543  New  York  Charter. 
7  Ncfw  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Rule  II,  clause  5. 

18 


ments  are  frequently  not  permitted  by  the  civil  service 
rules,  the  head  of  department  must  either  retain  inefficient 
employes  in  their  present  positions  which  is  unjust  to  the 
department  or  dismiss  them  from  the  service,  which  ma}- 
work  hardship  upon  the  individual  employe. 

TRANSFERS.  The  Civil  Service  Commission  should 
undertake  a  careful  study  of  the  labor  turnover  in  the  muni- 
cipal service,  with  a  view  to  reducing  it  to  a  minimum  and 
with  a  view  to  co-operating  with  appointing  officers  to  a 
larger  extent  in  the  solution  of  their  personnel  problems. 
It  seems  likely  that  by  a  careful  study  of  the  causes  leading 
to  the  unsatisfactory  service  performed  by  some  employes  in 
the  municipal  service  the  Civil  Service  Commission  may 
be  able  to  undertake  to  advise  these  employes  regarding 
positions  in  other  departments  of  the  city  government  for 
which  they  are  better  fitted  and  to  which  they  may  either 
be  transferred  without  examination  or  for  which  they 
should  seek  to  qualify  by  means  of  examination. 

Such  a  study  of  the  municipal  labor  turnover  would  un- 
doubtedly result  in  greater  municipal  efficieiic^(^^_jt-^would  • 
certainly  result  in  economy  by  saving"Tothe  municipality 
the  loss  which  it  suffers  whenever  a  trained  municipal  em- 
ploye leaves  the  service  and  it  would  probably  greatly  im- 
prove the  morale  of  the  municipal  service  by  pointing  out 
desirable  readjustments  in  assignments  and  hues  of  promo- 
tion to  those  employes  who  need  such  assistance. 

DISMISSALS.  If  mal-adjustments  in  the  municipal 
service  are  readjusted  by  means  of  transfers  and  promo- 
tions after  a  careful  continuing  study  of  the  municipal  labor 
turnover,  the  number  of  dismissals  and  lay-offs  in  the  muni- 
cipal service  will  be  very  greatly  decreased.  Even  if  in  all 
of  these  cases  of  dismissal  just  grounds  existed  for  such 
dismissal,  it  would  be  desirable  for  the  sake  of  the  influence 
upon  the  morale  of  the  personnel  to  improve  the  system 
whereby  such  dismissals  are  effected.  Many  private  em- 
ployers who  have  given  most  careful  thought  to  the  prob- 
lems of  pers.onnel  have  in  the  interests  of  economy  and  effi- 

19 


ciency  decided  that  no  employe  should  be  dismissed  by  any 
foreman  or  superintendent  and  that  dismissals  may  be  made 

l^only  by  the  personnel  director.  Unless  heads  of  department 
in  the  municipal  service  are  willing  to  delegate  the  power  of 
dismissal  to  trial  boards  on  which  the  employes  are  repre- 
sented,^ the  most  efficient  control  would  probably  be  one 
exercised  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 

An  administrative  control  is  preferable  to  a  judicial  con- 
trol because  the  attitude  of  the  courts  frequently  does  not 
give  full  consideration  to  the  administrative  problems  in- 
volved in  each  case  of  dismissal.  If  all  dismissals  are  made 
on  the  recommendation  of  a  trial  board,  on  which  the  Civil 
Service  Commission  acting  in  the  capacity  of  director  of 
personnel  is  represented,  and  the  majority  of  the  members 
of  which  are  not  connected  directly  with  the  appointing 
officer  of  the  department  in  which  the  employe  is  serving, 
the  conflicting  demands  of  administrative  efficiency  and  of 
justice  to  the  individual  employe  can  readily  be  reconciled. 
RELATIONS  WITH  EMPLOYES.  The  Civil  Service 
Commission  to  reach  its  highest  efficiency  must  in  all  of 
its  relations  with  employes  be  the  fountain  head  of  justice. 
The  most  pleasant  remembrance  of  the  writer's  years  of 
service  with  the  Civil  Service  Commission  is  the  unanimity 
with  which  all  employes  had  implicit  faith  in  the  impar- 
tiality of  our  late  chief  examiner.*  Whether  expressed  in 
the  words  of  a  civil  engineer,  "He  is  absolutely  fair  and 
impartial,"  or  in  the  words  of  a  policeman,  "He  is  dead  on 

Vthe  level ;  he  would  turn  down  his  own  brother,"  this  char- 
acteristic is  the  foundation  upon  which  a  successful  admin- 
istration of  the  civil  service  in  its  relation  with  employes 
must  rest. 

ASSISTANCE.  But  this  quality  of  impartiality  and 
fairness  though  of  the  greatest  importance  is  only  a  nega- 
tive virtue.  While  it  protects  the  municipal  employe  from 
grave  abuse,  and  while  it  is  the  keystone  of  civil  service 


8  Improved  Disciplinary  Methods,  Survey,  April  29,  1916. 
•  Frederick  Guion  Ireland. 

20 


administration,  more  positive  assistance  should  be  ren- 
dered by  the  Civil  Service  Commission  to  municipal  em- 
ployes. Municipal  employes  who  are  dissatisfied  with  their 
present  positions  should  be  able  to  obtain  assistance  from 
an  employe  of  the  Commission  in  their  efforts  to  better  their 
condition.  A  careful  study  of  these  requests  for  assistance 
should  be  made  by  an  employe  assigned  to  that  duty  be- 
cause of  his  sympathy,  his  tact,  his  investigative  ability 
and  his  sound  common  sense. 

Assistance  in  securing  assignments  in  their  own  depart- 
ment for  which  they  are  better  qualified  than  for  their  pres- 
ent assignments  ;  pointing  out  opportunities  for  transfers  to 
other  departments ;  outlining  courses  of  instruction  for 
promotion  in  cases  in  which  the  promotion  exammations 
are  standardized  and  sample  questions  of  previous  examina- 
tions are  available  for  distribution;  the  stimulation  of  am- 
bition which  may  be  called  healthy  discontent  and  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  spirit  of  insubordination  which  may  be 
called  unhealthy  discontent  are  a  few  of  the  services  which 
such  an  employe  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  can  ren- 
der to  municipal  employes  in  distress. 

Every  private  employer  who  has  established  a  grievance 
hour  has  found  it  a  most  valuable  investment  of  his  time 
The  municipal  service,  because  of  its  wide  extent  and  tlie 
greater  absence  of  the  personal  element  as  compared  with 
even  the  largest  of  private  organizations  is  peculiarly  in 
need  of  the  services  of  such  an  employe  assigned  to  the 
study  of  grievances  and  to  the  assistance  of  empl05res  In 
distress. 

STANDARIZATION  OF  EXAMINATIONS.  As  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  prepares  the  examinations  by 
which  entrance  into  the  city  service  and  promotion  in  the 
city  service  are  effected,  it  is  the  body  of  the  municipal 
government  which  should  assume  responsibility  for  the  for- 
mulation of  the  service  instruction  for  municipal  employes. 
It  is  debatable  whether  the  Civil  Service  Commission  should 
co-operate  actively  in  the  formulation  of  courses  of  study 

2t 


for  entrance  into  the  city  service,  both  because  there  is 
greater  danger  of  complaint  that  the  integrity  of  the  ex.- 
aminations  is  being  impaired  and  because  it  is  questionable 
whether  this  department  of  the  municipal  government 
should  actively  influence  men  and  women  to  choose  the  city 
service  as  a  life  career. 

There  can  be  no  question,  however,  that  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  should  formulate  courses  of  service  instruction 
for  those  in  the  municipal  service  who  seek  promotion.  To 
fulfill  this  function  the  Civil  Service  Commission  must 
standardize  its  principal  promotion  examinations,  so  thai 
those  who  are  preparing  for  promotion  may  know  in  ad- 
vance exactly  what  ground  should  be  covered  by  them  in 

^their  preparation.  It  should  also  standardize  some  of  its  ' 
entrance  examinations  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  it 
practicable  to  obtain  for  positions  the  incumbents  of  which 
can  learji-^U^eir  duties  quickly  without  any  large  amount 
of  training  or  experience,  persons  of  no  experience  at  much 
lower   salaries   than   experienced   persons   would   demand. 

/   Provision  may  be  made  for  the  deficiency  by  service  in- 
struction  for  the  employes   during  their  probationary   or 

\  apprenticeship  period. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  standarization  of  exam- 
inations does  not  necessarily  involve  stagnation  in  examina- 
tion procedure.  If  an  examination  has  been  standardized 
these  standards  may  be  changed  at  any  time  that  the  need 
^tOT  such  change  is  felt,  but  until  changed  the  old  standards 
must  be  followed.  In  a  progressive  and  enlightened  civil 
service  administration  changes  in  standards  will  be  of  com- 
paratively frequent  occurrence. 

SERVICE  INSTRUCTION.  In  the  field  of  service  in- 
struction courses  in  typewriting  should  be  prepared  to 
qualify  office  boys  and  junior  clerks  for  the  position  of 
typewriting  copyist ;  courses  in  elementary  shorthand  to 
qualify  clerks  and  typewriting  copyists  for  the  position  of 
stenographer;  courses  in  advanced  shorthand  to  enable 
itenographers  to  review  the  principles  of  their  art  and  to 


increase  their  speed;  courses  in  English  composition  for 
stenographers  and  clerks  to  give  them  assistance  in  practi- 
cal letter-writing  and  report-writing;  and  courses  in  arith- 
metic to  prepare  employes  for  those  clerical  promotion  ex- 
aminations in  which  arithmetic  is  a  subject.  Similar  courses 
of  instruction  should  be  formulated  for  employes  in  the 
accounting  service  and  the  engineering  service  of  the  city. 

For  some  branches  of  the  inspectional  service  courses  of 
service  instruction  would  greatly  increase  the  efficiency  of 
the  employes,  but  in  view  of  the  small  opportunities  for 
promotion  in  rank  in  this  service  the  attendance  at  these 

Jcourses  would  probably  be  small  unless  such  attendance  is 
taken  into  consideration  when  advancements  in  salary  are 
granted.  The  courses  of  service  instruction  to  which  refer- 
ence has  been  made  will  result  not  only  in  increased  effi- 
ciency of  the  personnel  but  also  in  greater  contentment  and 
ambition  resulting  from  such  advancement  and  promotion. 
By  providing  courses  of  service  instruction  for  positions 
the  incumbents  of  which  can  learn  their  duties  rapidly  with- 
out previous  special  experience  or  education,  the  city  will 
save  the  large  difference  between  the  salaries  demanded  by 
experienced  workers  and  those  paid  to  inexperienced  workers 
during  their  period  of  service  instruction.  This  will  be  a 
large  saving  because  in  most  of  these  positions  the  tenure 

\j  of  the  employes  is  very  short. ^° 

RECREATION.  The  Civil  Service  Commission  should 
also  in  connection  with  its  work  in  the  field  of  service  in- 
struction make  provisions  to  enable  municipal  employes  to 
obtain  relaxation  and  healthful  exercise  with  a  minimum 
of  inconvenience  and  a  maximum  of  benefit.  Courses  of 
instruction  in  swimmin^,^  Jji.^dancing;^in  light  gymnastics 
and  in  the  -elements  of^self^defence,  together  with  noon- 
hour  lectures  on  personal  hygiene  and  allied  health  topics 
will  be  found  to  interest  a  large  number  of  employes  and  to 
be  a  source  of  considerable  benefit  to  them  in  increasing 


10  Service   Instruction   of   American   Corporations,    U.   S.   Bureau 
Uducation  Bulletin  34,  1916. 

23 


/  their  physical  efficiency  upon  which  their  working  ability 

V^epends  to  such  a  large  extent. ^^ 

Saturday  afternoon  excursions  to  municipal  institutions 
in  outlying  sections  of  the  city,  particularly  wnen  such 
excursions  include  a  boat  ride  to  and  from  the  institution 
serve  incidentally  as  a  delightful  relaxation  while  increas- 
ing the  employes'  knowledge  of  the  activities  of  the  various 

^  municipal  departments. ^^  Provision  may  also  be  made  by 
the  Civil  Service  Commission  in  co-operation  with  the  Com- 
missioner of  Health  to  provide  an  annual  medical  exam- 
ination for  all  municipal  employes  who  wish  to  avail  them- 
selves of  this  privilege  ^Trd~tor~^provide  medical  attention 
and  advice  for  those  employes  who  may  require  it. 

CHAPTER  TWO 
The  Examining  Division 

SECTION    ONE— ORGANIZATION. 

CHIEF  EXAMINER.  The  chief  examiner  has  charge  of 
all  matters  pertaining  to  the  preparation  for  and  the  con- 
duct of  examinations.^  His  duties  may  be  divided  into  four 
broad  classes — consultative,  supervisory,  planning  and 
routine.  The  function  to  which  he  is  obliged  to  devote 
most  of  his  time  is  the  consultatiyg  function.  He  is  re- 
quired to  confer  with  and  to  give  expert  professional  advice 
to  civil  service  commissioners  and  to  appointing  officers  on 
all  technical  subjects  relating  to  the  personnel  of  the  munic- 
ipal government.  Most  of  his  supervisory  powers  over 
the  members  of  the  examining  staff  may  be  delegated  by 
him  to  the  assistant  chief  examiner  in  charge  of  rating, 
but  sufficient  control  should  be  retained  by  him,  at  all  times 
to  enable  him  to  assume  conscientiously  the  responsibility 
imposed  upon  him  of  taking  care  that  accuracy,  uniformity 
and  justice  are  secured  in  their  proceedings. 


11  Recreational  Activities  for  City  Employes,  Modern  City,  July, 
1917. 

12  The  writer  has  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  providing 
such  service  instruction  and  opportunities  for  recreation  for  muni- 
cipal employes  by  planning  them  unofficially  outside  of  office  hours 
during  the  last  four  years  with  success.  ■ 

1  New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Regulation  II. 

24 


Most  of  the  planning  functions  may  be  delegated  by  him 
to  the  assistant  chief  examiner  in  charge  of  examinations 
but  the  chief  examiner  should  personally  make  all  assign- 
ments of  examiners  to  the  preparation  of  examinations  and 
to  the  rating  of  papers,  both  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
centralized  control  and,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  cen- 
tralized responsibility.  The  routine  functions  of  the  posi-*'' 
tion  which  include  the  examination  and  transmission  to  the 
commission  of  all  reports  of  examiners  and  the  auditing  of 
all  bills  of  the  examining  division  are  enormous  in  quantity 
but  of  comparatively  small  importance.  An  efficient  chief 
examiner  will  delegate  the  endorsement  of  most  of  these 
reports  to  his  secretary  and  will  delegate  to  her  also  the 
duty  of  interviewing  the  members  of  the  public  calling  at 
his  office  and  the  duty  of  furnishing  to  the  members  of  the 
examining  staff  such  information  as  she  may  be  able  to 
give,  with  a  view  to  saving  his  own  time  for  more  im- 
portant duties. 

ASSISTANT  CHIEF  EXAMINER  IN  CHARGE  OF 
EXAMINATIONS.  The  assistant  chief  examiner  in 
charge  of  examinations  should  be  in  charge,  under  the 
direction  of  the  chief  examiner,  of  all  of  the  work  con- 
nected with  an  examination  until  the  candidates'  papers 
have  been  delivered  on  the  day  of  the  examination  to  the 
custodian  for  assignment  for  rating.  His  duties  may  be 
divided  into  two  broad  classes — planning  and  executive. 
An  efficient  assistant  chief  examiner  will  devote  most  of  tiis 
time  and  efforts  to  his  planning  duties,  delegating  most  of 
the  details  of  his  executive  duties  to  competent  assistants. 
In  this  way  he  will  find  it  necessary  to  devote  only  so  much 
time  to  these  duties  as  will  enable  him  to  make  certain  that 
all  the  details  of  the  conduct  of  the  examinations  are 
properly  attended  to. 

EXECUTIVE  DUTIES.  For  the  performance  of  his 
executive  duties  the  asistant  chief  examiner  in  charge  of 
examinations  must  be  a  master  of  details.  This  means  that 
with  a  minimum  expenditure  of  his  own  time  he  must  be 

25 


able  to  make  certain  that  competent  subordinates  attend 
faithfully  and  properly  to  the  thousands  of  important  de- 
tails connected  with  the  conduct  of  written,  practical  and 
oral  civil  service  examinations,  in  some  of  which  more  than 
four  thousand  candidates  compete  in  a  single  session.  The 
selection,  assignment,  training  and  direction  of  the  moni- 
tors, the  purchase,  delivering  and  distribution  of  the  sta- 
tionery, the  printing  and  expeditious  distribution  of  the 
question  sheets,  the  admission  and  seating  of  the  candi- 
dates, the  maintenance  of  discipline  in  the  examination 
room  and  the  prompt  and  equitable  disposition  of  hun- 
dreds of  questions  affecting  the  rights  of  candidates  and  the 
integrity  of  the  examination  which  arise  in  the  examination 
room,  as  well  as  the  preparation  of  detailed  reports  of  each 
examination^  and  the  renumbering  of  the  candidates'  ex- 
amination papers  and  their  transportation  and  delivery  to 
the  custodian  in  charge  of  such  papers  are  some  of  the  de- 
tails which  must  be  attended  to  daily  by  this  officer,  while 
he  is  obliged  to  devote  the  major  portion  of  his  time  to 

vlhis  planning  duties  at  his  desk  and  in  the  field. 

These  duties  would  call  for  executive  ability  of  the  highest 
order  if  the  assistant  chief  examiner  could  attend  to  these  de- 

^  tails  personally ;  when  he  is  obliged  to  delegate  these  duties 
to  subordinates  because  his  own  time  must  be  devoted  to  the 
performance  of  his  planning  functions  at  his  desk  they  re- 
quire the  very  highest  grade  of  executive  capability. 

PLANNING  DUTIES.  The  planning  duties  of  this 
^  assistant  chief  examiner  are  of  more  importance  than  his 
executive  duties  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  amount  of 
time  devoted  to  them,  their  importance  to  the  examining 
division,  and  the  experience,  knowledge  and  ability  required 
for  their  efficient  performance.  When  the  municipal  de- 
partments prepare  their  annual  budgets  in  the  summer  of 
each  year,  these  budgets  must  be  examined  by  this  assistant 
chief  examiner  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  the  probable 


2  New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Regulation  II, 
clause  5. 

26 


needs  of  the  departments  for  new  eligible  lists  and  with  a 
view  to  anticipating  their  needs  by  holding  and  completing 
the  necessary  examinations  before  the  beginning  of  the  next 
calendar  year.  He  must  also  plan  the  work  of  the  examin- 
ing division  for  the  following  year  with  a  view  to  furnish- 
ring  to  the  chief  examiner  the  work  data  required  by  him  to 
prepare  his  own  annual  budget. 

Although  extraordinary  condrtions  which  could  not  be 
foreseen  will  undoubtedly  interfere  each  year  with  the  car- 
rying out  of  the  work  plan  prepared  by  this  assistant  chief 
examiner  during  the  preceding  summer  the  formulation  of 
such  a  plan  of  work  is  of  great  value  to  the  supervising 
officials  of  the  examining  division  and  is  indispensable  to 
the  chief  examiner  in  the  preparation  of  his  own  annual 
budget  containing  the  annual  appropriations  of  the  exam- 
ining division  for  the  ensuing  year. 

RECOMMENDING  EXAMINATIONS.  Whenever 
there  is  a  vacancy  in  the  municipal  service  and  there  is  no 
appropriate  eligible  list  for  this  position,  the  appointing 
officer  may  designate  a  person  for  non-competitive  exam- 
ination. If  upon  such  non-competitive  examination  the 
person  designated  is  found  to  be  qualified,  he  may  be  ap- 
pointed and  employed  until  an  eligible  list  for  this  position 
has  been  prepared,  subject  to  the  limitation  contained  in 
the  law  that  no  person  may  serve  under  the  provisions  of 
this  rule  for  a  longer  period  than  four  months.^ 

By  an  examination  of  the  departmental  budgets  in  the 
summer  of  the  preceding  year  the  examinations  for  posi- 
tions required  on  Janaury  first  may  be  held  and  rated  dur- 
ing the  preceding  months  of  October,  November  and  Decem- 
ber; by  a  careful  continuing  study  of  the  action  of  those 
municipal  bodies  having  the  authority  to  create  new  posi- 
tions during  the  year  examinations  for  such  newly-created 
positions  may  be  initiated  at  the  same  time  that  proceed- 
ings for  their  establishment  are  initiated  with  the  result 


3  New    York    Municipal    Civil    Service    Commission,    Rule    XII, 
clause  3. 

27 


that  the  period  of  service  of  the  temporary  incumbent  under 
this  provision  of  the  rules  will  be  shortened;  by  a  careful 
check  and  analysis  of  the  progress  of  the  certification  of 
existing  eligible  lists  a  new  examination  will  in  almost 
every  case  be  recommended  by  this  assistant  chief  examiner 
in  such  good  season  that  the  new  list  will  be  ready  for  certi- 
fication before  the  old  list  is  exhausted. 

In  connection  with  the  recommendation  of  each  new 
examination  this  assistant  chief  examiner  must  also  make 
the  necessary  investigation  to  enable  him  to  determine  the 
proper  subjects  of  the  examination,  the  weight  to  be  at- 
tached to  each  subject,  the  training  and  experience  to  be 
/  required  of  each  applicant  and  the  other  terms  and  condi- 
tions of  eligibility.  In  the  case  of  promotion  examinations, 
he  must  similarly  fix  the  subjects  and  weights  and  the 
terms  and  conditions  of  eligibility.  The  advertising  of  the 
examinations  in  newspapers  and  periodicals,  and  by  the 
mailing  of  notices  to  persons  and  institutions  that  can  assist 
in  bringing  each  examination  to  the  attention  of  desirable 
qualified  applicants,  as  well  as  the  preparation  and  distri- 
bution of  sample  questions  should  also  be  attended  to  under 
the  direction  of  this  assistant  chief  examiner. 

ASSISTANT  CHIEF  EXAMINER  IN  CHARGE  OF 
RATING.  The  duties  of  the  assistant  chief  examiner  in 
charge  of  rating  should  be  strictly  supervisory  in  the  nar- 
M-ower  sense  of  that  word.  This  assistant  chief  examiner 
should  be  responsible  for  the  supervision  and  direction  ot 
the  work  of  the  examiners  and  other  employes  of  the  ex- 
amining division.  These  duties  include  the  recommending 
to  the  chief  examiner  of  examiners  available  for  assign- 
ment to  work;  the  recommending  to  the  chief  examiner  of 
persons  competent  and  willing  to  act  as  expert  examiners ; 
the  examination,  correction  and  revision  of  rating  keys; 
the  consideration  of  appeals  of  candidates  and  of  the  ex- 
aminers' reports  on  these  appeals,  the  fixing  of  standards 
and  the  supervision  of  the  rating  of  candidates  in  the  non- 


competitive  class^  and  in  the  labor  class,  and  supervision 
over  the  library,  the  computing  room,  the  record  room  and 
the  vault  containing  examination  papers  in  the  course  of 
being  rated. 

ASSISTANT  CHIEF  EXAMINER  IN  CHARGE  OF 
SALARIES.  The  duties  of  the  assistant  chief  examiner 
in  charge  of  salaries  should  include  the  investigation  of 
departmental  requests  for  additional  employes,  for  increases 
in  the  compensation  of  employes  and  for  the  creation  of 
new  positions ;  recommendations  for  the  fixing  of  the  titles 
and  the  salaries  of  new  positions  and  for  increases  in  the 
compensation  of  employes;  the  maintenance  of  a  uniform 
service  record  system  in  all  departments  and  the  application 
of  this  system  in  connection  with  requests  for  advancement 
and  promotion ;  the  investigation  of  complaints  of  impropdr 
assignments  and  such  other  duties  relating  to  personnel 
problems  in  the  municipal  service  as  may  be  assigned  by 
the  commission.^ 

EXAMINERS.  The  examining  staff  should  consist  of 
senior  examiners,  examiners,  assistant  examiners,  expert  ex- 
aminers and  per  diem  examiners.  Each  of  the  principal 
functions  of  the  work  of  the  examining  division  should  be 
in  charge  of  a  senior  examiner — a  person  who  by  training, 
by  experience  and  by  personal  qualifications  is  able  to  as- 
sume entire  responsibility  for  a  single  activity  of  the  rating 
division's  work.  A  senior  examiner  may  be  assigned  to 
civil  engineering  work,  one  to  mechanical  engineering 
work,  one  to  police  examinations,  one  to  examinations  in 
the  fire  department,  one  to  the  accounting  service,  one  to 
the  attendance  service,  one  to  promotion  examinations  and 
one  to  each  of  the  other  principal  groups  of  city  depart- 
ments.   In  making  these  assignments,  the  individual  capa- 


4  Principally  minor  institutional  positions. 

5  Most  of  these  duties  are  performed  at  present  by  the  Bureau 
of  Personal  Service  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Appointment; 
they  should,  however,  be  transferred  to  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission, which  is  the  personnel  department  of  the  municipal 
grovernment. 

29 


bility  of  each  examiner  should  be  carefully  considered,  and 
in  the  appointment  of  new  examiners  the  needs  of  the 
service  with  reference  to  particular  activities  should  also 
be  considered.  As  many  examiners  should  be  assigned  to 
work  under  the  guidance  of  each  senior  examiner  as  may 
be  needed  for  the  performance  of  the  work  of  that  branch 
of  the  examining  division. 

Per  diem  examiners  are  men  engaged  in  private 
business,  who  have  qualified  in  a  competitive  ex- 
amination for  the  position  of  examiner  and  are  given  rating 
assignments  to  be  performed  at  their  residence  or  place  of 
business  at  such  times  as  the  volume  of  high-grade  work  in 
the  examining  division  is  so  large  that  it  cannot  be  handled 
by  the  regular  examiners.  Expert  examiners  are  persons 
of  eminence  in  their  respective  professions  who  are  ap- 
pointed to  assist  the  regular  examiners  of  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  in  the  preparation  and  rating  of  an  examina- 
tion for  a  position  requiring  exceptional  qualifications  of  a 
scientific,  professional  or  educational  character,  which  no 
examiner  in  the  regular  employ  of  the  commission  is  able 
to  grade.  For  the  rating  of  low  grade  papers,  such  as 
spelling  papers,  memory  tests,  simple  arithmetic  papers, 
copying  papers  and  the  like,  assistant  examiners  may  be 
employed  at  a  lower  rate  of  compensation  than  is  paid  to 
regular  examiners. 

ADVISORY  BOARD.  Before  being  submitted  to  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  for  adoption  and  publication,  the 
advertisement  of  each  competitive  examination  and  the 
terms  of  eligibility  of  each  of  the  more  important  promo- 
tion examinations,  together  with  the  report  of  the  exam- 
iner who  prepared  the  advertisement  or  terms  of  eligi- 
bility are  carefully  considered  by  an  advisory  board  con- 
sisting of  the  president  of  the  commission,  the  secretary  of 
the  commission,  the  chief  examiner,  the  assistant  chief 
examiners,  and  such  other  examiners  as  may  be  designated 
by  the  Commission.^     These  announcements  of  examina- 


*N€w    York    Municiipal    Civil    Service    Commission,    Rule    III. 
clause  3. 

30 


tions  are  scrutinized,  criticised  and  amended  by  this  board, 
which  also  considers  critically  before  adoption  by  the 
Commission  all  changes  and  improvements  in  examining 
and  rating  methods. 

CLERICAL  ASSISTANCE.  It  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  adequate  clerical  assistance  be  provided  for 
the  examining  division  in  the  interests  of  economy  as  well 
as  in  the  interests  of  efficiency.  The  chief  examiner  should 
be  provided  with  a  private  secretary  who  should  be  relieved 
of  all  routine  stenographic  duties  and  who  should  devote 
her  entire  time  to  relieving  the  chief  examiner  of  the  many 
details  of  routine  which  would  otherwise  occupy  too  much 
of  his  valuable  time.  A  progress  clerk  in  the  chief  ex- 
aminer's office  should  devote  her  whole  time  to  the  keeping 
of  the  record  of  progress  of  each  examination,  the  prepara- 
tion of  weekly  progress  reports,  the  daily  work  records  of 
the  examiners,  and  the  furnishing  of  progress  slips  to  the 
chief  examiner  to  initiate  the  next  step  in  each  examination. 

Each  of  the  assistant  chief  examiners  should  have  a  sec- 
retary assigned  to  his  office  to  relieve  him  of  as  many  of  the 
routine  details  as  she  may  be  able  to  attend  to  herself,  such 
as  interviewing  the  public  and  the  preparation  of  routine 
reports  and  correspondence  without  dictation.  The  ex- 
amining division  should  alsio  have  a  centrali,zed  sten- 
ographic bureau  with  as  many  stenographers  as  the  needs 
of  the  division  may  require  for  assignment  not  only  to  the 
chief  examiners  and  the  assistant  chief  examiners,  but  also 
to  the  senior  examiners  and  such  of  the  other  examiners  as 
may  require  their  services.  There  should  also  be  an  ade- 
quate force  of  office  boys  to  attend  to  the  minor  clerical 
work  and  the  errands  in  the  division  in  order  that  the 
valuable  time  of  the  members  of  the  examining  staff  may 
not  be  frittered  away  in  the  performance  of  duties  which 
may  be  attended  to  equally  well  by  employes  receiving  a 
lower  salary. 

31 


SECTION  TWO— FUNCTIONS 

ANTICIPATING  NEEDS  OF  SERVICE.  One  of  the 
most  valuable  indicia  of  the  efficiency  of  the  civil  service 
administration  is  the  number  of  persons  serving  without 
competitive  examination  pending  the  promulgation  of  a 
competitive  eligible  list.^  Although  it  is  true  that  even 
under  the  most  efficient  administration  such  provisional  ap- 
pointments cannot  be  entirely  prevented,  yet  a  properly  or- 
ganized and  well  supervised  examining  division  will  reduce 
the  number  of  such  provisional  appointments  to  a  very 
low  minimum. 

The  needs  of  the  service  on  the  first  day  of  each  year 
when  the  new  budget  goes  into  effect  may  be  anticipated  by 
holding  the  necessary  examinations  during  the  last  three 
months  of  the  preceding  year,  since  the  budget  is  adopted 
in  the  autumn  of  the  preceding  year.  Similarly  although 
the  establishment  of  a  new  department  with  a  large  number 
of  new  positions  requiring  incumbents  possessing  special- 
ized knowledge  and  experience  cannot  be  foreseen  by  the 
civil  service  commission,  no  examining  division  can  offer 
any  valid  excuse  for  failing  to  have  eligible  lists  for  such 
positions  as  office  boy,  stenographer  and  typewriter  and  the 
V  like,  available  at  all  times  for  certification. 

A  careful  study  of  the  progress  of  certification  of  the  ex- 
isting list  will  enable  the  examining  division  to  recommend 
a  new  examination  in  ample  time  to  anticipate  the  needs 
of  the  service.  Unusual  conditions  such  as  the  inadequacy 
of  the  salary  offered  by  the  city  or  extraordinary  demands 
for  employes  of  a  particular  class  in  private  Hfe  may  be 
solved  by  the  examining  division  before  the  existing  list 
is  exhausted. 

FIXING  CONDITIONS  OF  EXAMINATION.  Before 
the  subjects  and  weights  and  other  conditions  of  eligibility 
for  a  competitive  examination  or  for  an  important  promo- 


1  New    York    Municipal    Civil    Service    Commission,    Rule    XII, 
clause  3. 

32 


tion  examination  are  recommended  by  the  examining  divi- 
sion there  should  be  a  thorough  field  investigation  of  the 
duties  of  the  position  to  be  filled,  of  the  salary  offered  and 
of  the  qualifications  required  for  similar  positions  in  other 
branches  of  the  public  service  and  in  private  employment. 
The  time  spent  in  such  investigation  is  well  invested.  The 
co-operation  of  appointing  officers  should  be  sought.  Al- 
though their  suggestions  cannot  always  be  adopted  they 
will  generally  be  found  helpful  and  when  they  must  t)e 
disregarded  this  is  due  more  frequently  to  their  lack  of  ex- 
pert knowledge  of  personnel  problems  than  to  any  conscious 
effort  on  their  part  to  influence  the  examiner  improperly. 

In  the  formulation  of  the  conditions  of  eligibility  and  or 
the  other  conditions  of  the  examination,  the  utmost  sim- 
plicity and  liberality  consistent  with  the  maintenance  of 
the  efficiency  of  the  service  should  be  adopted.  Liber- 
ality should  be  encouraged  in  the  formulation  of  these 
conditions  to  make  certain  that  no  qualified  applicant  will 
be  excluded  and  simplicity  is  desirable  not  only  in  the  inter- 
ests of  economy  since  it  is  cheaper  to  rate  a  simple  exam- 
ination than  an  elaborate  examination,  but  also  because 
elaborate  examinations  frequently  bar  from  the  service 
some  of  the  most  desirable  applicants.  A  study  of  the 
methods  of  employment  managers  in  private  life  will  often 
be  of  much  suggestive  value  in  this  connection,  because, 
although  civil  service  examinations  are  usually  models  of 
thoroughness  and  completeness,  private  employment 
methods  frequently  contain  valuable  suggestions  of  ade- 
quate simplicity. 

MEDICAL  EXAMINATIONS.  Every  applicant  for  a 
position  in  the  municipal  service  should  be  given  a  medical 
examination  which  is  sufficiently  thorough  to  make  certain 
that  he  possesses  the  physical  qualifications  required  for 
the  position  which  he  is  seeking.  These  medical  examina- 
tions should  be  graded  according  to  the  nature  of  the  physi- 
cal qualifications  required.  In  every  case  the  medical  ex- 
aminer should  make  certain  that  the  applicant  is  free  from 

33 


communicable  disease,  which  would  make  the  applicant  a 
menace  to  other  employes  in  the  municipal  service.  In 
every  case  also  the  medical  examiner  should  make  certain 
that  the  applicant's  vision  is  sufficiently  good  to  enable  him 
to  perform  efficiently  the  duties  of  the  position  which  he 
seeks. 

In  the  case  of  positions  which  require  of  the  incumbent 
a  larger  degree  of  physical  ability — as,  for  example,  in  the 
inspectional  service  or  the  skilled  trades  service — a  more 
comprehensive  medical  examination  is  indicated,  and  simil- 
arly a  more  thorough  examination  is  necessary  when  the 
position  sought  is  a  hazardous  one  within  the  provisions  of 
the  Workmen's  Compensation  Law.^  The  question  of  pen- 
sions is  not  of  importance  at  the  present  day  as  afifecting  the 
medical  examination  both  because  city  employes  do  not  en- 
joy any  pension  privileges  which  require  protection  by  the 
medical  examination  of  recruits  into  the  city  service,  and 
because  in  any  pension  law  which  may  be  enacted,  it  is  likely 
that  a  minimum  period  of  service  will  be  required  which  will 
effectually  safeguard  the  interests  of  the  city  against  re- 
cruits who  are  not  physically  sound. 

These  medical  examinations  are  almost  invariably  non- 
competitive in  character,  every  person  who  succeeds  in 
qualifying  being  admitted  to  the  remainder  of  the  examina- 
tion on  an  equal  footing.  In  the  case  of  applicants  for  ap- 
pointment on  the  uniformed  police  and  fire  forces,  how- 
ever, it  is  well  to  add  tests  of  strength  and  to  rate  them  on 
a  competitive  scale,  because  of  the  importance  of  physical 
strength  and  ability,  in  these  two  forces. 

.  WRITTEN  EXAMINATIONS.  The  conduct  of  written 
examinations  was  the  first  activity  of  the  examining  divi- 
sion and  it  is  still  its  niost  important  function.  The  written 
examination  is  the  fairest  of  all  tests.  The  candidate  is 
given  plenty  of  time  to  deliberate  and  to  answer  the  ques- 
tions in  his  own  way.  The  identity  of  the  candidate  is 
completely  concealed  from  the  examiner,  thus  insuring  ab- 


2  State  of  New  York,  Laws  of  1916,  chapter  622. 

34 


solute  impartiality.  There  is,  furthermore,  a  complete 
record  of  the  candidate's  performance  in  the  examination 
open  to  the  inspection  of  the  applicant  and  to  the  inspection 
of  any  other  interested  person  in  the  discretion  of  tlie 
Commission. 

It  is  claimed  that  written  examinations  have  some  serious 
defects.  It  is  contended  that  many  competent  employes 
possess  greater  manual  skill  than  literary  abilty  and  that 
for  positions  requiring  manual  skill  a  practical  test  is  prefer- 
able to  a  written  examination.  It  is  contended  that  for 
many  positions  the  personality  of  the  appHcant  is  of  greater 
importance  than  his  knowledge  and  ability,  and  that  for 
positions  of  this  kind  an  oral  test  is  preferable  to  a  written 
examination.  It  is  contended  that  for  many  positions  of  the 
highest  grade  persons  eminent  in  their*  respective  profes- 
sions will  not  compete  in  an  assembled,  written  examination 
and  that  for  positions  of  this  kind  a  non-assembled  examin- 
ation should  be  held.  The  merits  of  each  of  these  argu- 
ments will  be  considered,  but  in  connection  with  these  ar- 
guments the  great  advantages  of  the  written  test  should  be 
borne  in  mind — absolute  impartiality,  ease  and  freedom  of 
the  applicant  and  full  record  of  the  proceedings. 

PRACTICAL  EXAMINATIONS.  Practical  examina- 
tions are  frequently  held  to  supplement  or  to  supplant  the 
written  examination  in  cases  in  which  motor  activities 
rather  than  ideo-motor  activities  are  required  of  the  in- 
cumbents of  the  position  which  the  applicants  seek  For 
positions  the  incumbents  of  which  may  be  efficient  even 
though  almost  illiterate,  the  examination  should  consist  of 
a  practical  test  only.  Examples  of  such  positions  are  those 
of  gardener,  stationary  engineer  and  most  of  the  positions 
in  the  skilled  trades  service.  For  positions  the  incumbents 
of  which  are  engaged  in  highly  specialized  motor  activities 
to  a  largre  extent,  it  is  desirable  that  the  written  test  be 
supplemented  by  a  practical  test.  Examples  of  such  posi- 
tions are  those  of  gymnasium  attendant,  swimming  in- 
structor, pilot,  inspector  of  plumbing  and  the  like. 

35 


It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  although  the  absolute 
impartiality  of  the  written  examination  is  lust  in  the  prac- 
tical test  in  which  the  candidate  and  the  examiner  come 
into  close  personal  contact  and  although  the  ease  and  free- 
dom of  the  applicant  is  sacrified  in  a  test  in  which  imme- 
diate performance  in  the  presence  of  the  examiner  is  re- 
quired, practical  tests  in  the  case  of  the  classes  of  positions 
mentioned  are  almost  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  duties 
required  in  the  daily  performance  of  duty.  It  is  also  possi- 
ble to  keep  a  record  of  the  proceeding  which  will  indicate 
to  any  competent  reviewer  whether  the  applicant  has  been 
justly  rated.  In  many  cases  it  is  also  practicable  to  pre- 
serve the  results  of  the  applicant's  performance  in  the  prac- 
tical test  during  the  period  in  which  he  may  present  an 
appeal  for  a  re-rating. 

ORAL  EXAMINATIONS.  Oral  examinations  are  held 
to  supplement  the  written  examinations  for  positions  re- 
quiring force,  strength  of  character,  a  pleasing  personality 
and  quickness  of  mental  reaction.  The  examiners  rate  the 
applicant  on  the  impression  which  he  makes  upon  them  in 
the  oral  interview.  Applicants  frequently  do  not  present 
their  normal  appearance  at  these  oral  tests.  Although  a 
stenographic  record  of  the  oral  test  is  sometimes  preserved, 
this  record  possesses  little  value  in  the  consideration  of 
appeals,  since  the  standards  of  rating  in  oral  tests  cannot 
be  definitely  formulated  and  the  rating  is  largely  im- 
pressionistic. Oral  tests  lack  the  absolute  impartiality  of 
written  examinations,  the  candidates  possess  the  least  ease 
and  freedom  at  these  tests  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
preserve  adequate  records  of  the  work  of  the  examiners.  ^ 

Oral  tests,  even  when  conducted  with  the  greatest  care, 
ability  and  impartiality  are  regarded  with  suspicion  by  the 
applicants,  because  of  the  indefinite  standards  of  rating, 
the  direct  contact  with  the  examiners,  the  absence  of  com- 
plete records,  and  the  ease  with  which  they  may  be  manipu- 
lated without  possiblity  of  detection.  Although  oral  tests 
may  be  necessary  ixi  the  case  of  a  position  for  which  per- 

30 


sonality  is  the  principal  qualification,  as,  for  example,  some 
positions  in  the  diplomatic  service,  the  recommendation  of 
an  oral  test  should  be  withheld  in  all  cases  in  which  the 
needs  of  the  service  may  be  adequately  fulfilled  by  other 
tests  which  are  conducted  on  a  definitely  standardized  basis 
and  which  are  regarded  more  favorably  by  the  candidates 
and  by  the  general  public. 

It  is  beHeved  that  for  many  positions  of  an  administra- 
tive character,  for  which  oral  tests  are  at  present  held,  a 
qualitative  valuation  of  the  applicant's  experience  will  be 
found  a  satisfactory  substitute.  An  applicant  who  has  filled 
other  important  administrative  positions  successfully  may 
safely  be  assumed  to  possess  the  personality  and  the  force 
required  for  the  administrative  position  for  which  the  ex- 
amination is  being  held.^ 

NON-ASSEMBLED  EXAMINATIONS.  The  non-as- 
sembled examination  should  be  recommended  only  in  those 
cases  in  which  the  needs  of  the  service  require  that  an  ex- 
amination be  thrown  open  to  citizens  of  the  United  States 
who  are  not  residents  of  the  State  of  New  York  and  in 
which  there  are  reasonable  grounds  for  believing  that 
qualified  applicants  will  be  reluctant  to  compete  in  an  as- 
sembled written  examination.  In  the  actual  administration 
of  examinations  it  will  be  found  that  these  non-assembled 
examinations  will  be  required  most  frequently  for  medical 
positions  of  an  administrative  character,  for  which  the 
number  of  qualified  applicants  is  small  and  resident  in  in- 
stitutions scattered  throughout  the  United  States.  For 
positions  of  this  kind  in  which  training  and  experience  are 
believed  to  be  sufficient  to  qualify  for  appointment,  an  ex- 
perience paper  giving  the  applicants'  training  and  experi- 
ence in  detail  for  rating  on  a  competitive  scale  will  be  found 
adequate  and  sufficient.  In  cases  in  which  the  position  for 
which  the  examination  is  held  requires  peculiar  administra- 
tive ability  in  the  solution  of  a  novel  and  difficult  adminis- 
trative problem,  the  applicants  may  be  required  to  submit 


^See  Section  3  of  this  chapter,  infra. 

Z7 


a  thesis  on  this  adminstrative  problem  within  a  specified 
time. 

In  non-assembled  tests  the  identity  of  each  candidate  is 
hidden ;  the  ease  and  freedom  of  the  applicants  is  not  only 
preserved,  but  is  increased  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  writ- 
ten examinations  and  there  is  a  complete  record  of  the  pro- 
ceedings. An  element  of  danger  is,  however,  introduced  by 
the  fact  that  the  theses  are  prepared  without  supervision 
and  that  there  is  no  certainty  that  each  is  the  work  of  the 
applicant  himself.-  It  is  on  this  account  that  the  non-as- 
sembled test  should  not  be  employed  in  cases  in  which  the 
Civil  Service  Commission  believes  that  an  assembled  test 
will  attract  sufficient  competent  applicants  for  the  needs  of 
the  service. 

CHARACTER  INVESTIGATION.  All  applicants  for 
employment  in  the  municipal  service  should  be  given  a 
thorough  character  investigation,  whether  they  are  ap- 
pointed in  the  competitive  class,  the  non-competitive  class 
or  the  labor  class.  This  investigation  should  include  not 
only  an  investigation  of  the  applicant's  police  record,  if 
any,  but  also  a  critical  study  of  his  employment  record.  The 
character  examination  is  a  valuation  of  the  applicant's 
moral  fitness  and  moral  fitness  in  the  broadest  conception 
of  that  term  is  of  at  least  equal  importance  and  probably 
of  greater  importance  than  physical  or  intellectual  fitness. 
When  experience  is  one  of  the  subjects  of  the  examination, 
such  a  character  investigation  is  absolutely  essential  to 
protect  the  honest  applicant  from  the  attempts  of  the  un- 
scrupulous applicant  to  overstate  his  experience.  In  every 
case'  however,  each  applicant  should  be  given  a  thorough 
character  investigation  by  a  trained  character  investigator. 

SERVICE  RECORDS.  Service  records  are  required  in 
the  municipal  service  because  under  the  law  promotions 
are  based  in  part  upon  the  superior  qualifications  of  the 
person  promoted  as  shown  by  his  previous  service.'*    The 


4  State  of  New  York,  Laws  of  1909,  Chapter  15,  Section  16,  Con- 
solidated Laws,  chapter  7,  section   15. 

38 


keeping  of  such  service  records  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  of  civil  service  administration.  The 
ratings  should  be  made  in  each  case  by  the  administrative 
officer  most  closely  in  touch  w^ith  the  work  of  the  subor- 
dinate rated ;  this  officer  will  generally  be  the  bureau  or 
division  chief.  They  should  be  reviewed  by  a  bureau  com- 
mittee in  the  case  of  a  department  having  several  rating 
officers  within  a  bureau  and  by  inter-bureau  committees 
in  the  case  of  departments  having  many  bureaus  employing 
persons  under  the  same  title. 

The  service  records  should  be  approved  by  the  personnel 
board  of  the  department  consisting  of  not  less  than  three 
superior  officers  or  employes  of  the  department.  A  repre- 
sentative of  the  civil  service  commission  should  be  present 
at  each  meeting  of  the  personnel  board  and  of  the  bureau 
and  inter-bureau  committees,  to  give  expert  assistance  to 
these  boards  and  committees.  Employes  should  have  the 
right  to  inspect  their  efficiency  or  service  records  and  to 
appeal  to  the  departmental  personnel  board  and  to  the  civil 
service  commission  for  a  revision  of  their  ratings.  The 
service  records  of  each  department  should  be  critically  ex- 
amined by  the  civil  service  commission  upon  their  receipt  in 
the  office  of  the  commission  and  the  commission  should 
retain  the  right  to  modify  any  service  rating  which  accord- 
ing to  the  investigation  of  its  examiners  appears  to  be  un- 
^  justified.  In  each  case  of  this  kind  an  opportunity  to  be 
heard  should  be  given  to  the  department  affected,  before 
the  record  is  modified.^ 

Employes  are  at  present  being  rated  upon  the  quantity 
of  their  work,  the  quality  of  their  work  and  their  person- 
aHty,  and  they  may  suffer  deductions  for  lateness,  absence 
and  misconduct.  Seven  grades  are  provided  on  the  factors 
of  quantity  of  work  and  quality  of  work — far  above  stand- 
ard, conspicuously  above  standard,  above  standard,  stand- 
ard, below  standard,  conspicuously  below  standard,  and  far 
below  standard,  to  which  the  percentages  44,  41'  38,  35,  32, 


5  New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Regulation  XIII. 

39 


29  and  26  have  been  attached  respectively — and  three  grades 
of  above  standard,  standard,  and  below  standard,  with  per- 
centages of  12,  10  and  8,  respectively,  have  been  fixed  for 
the  factor  of  personality.  Whenever  a  rating  other  than  a 
standard  rating  is  given  to  an  employe  a  full  statement  of 
the  facts  in  support  of  such  discriminating  rating  must  be 
given  on  the  standard  record  form.  Each  committee  and 
each  board  which  reviews  the  service  records  has  power  to 
modify  such  rating  upon  stating  the  reasons  for  its  action 
in  writing.^ 

NON-COMPETITIVE  EXAMINATIONS.  The  non- 
competitive examinations  conducted  by  the  civil  service 
commission  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — examinations 
"^  of  temporary  appointees  pending  the  promulgation  of  a 
competitive  list,  whose  tenure  cannot  exceed  four  months^ 
and  examinations  of  applicants  for  positions  in  institutions 
for  which  the  commission  has  found  competition  imprac- 
ticable.* In  the  case  of  nearly  all  non-competitive  exam- 
inations the  applicants  are  not  assembled  for  a  written 
test;  they  are  rated  on  a  detailed  statement  of  their  edu- 
cation and  experience.  For  temporary  positions  the  same 
quality  of  experience  is  usually  demanded  as  is  required 
for  permanent  appointment  to  the  same  position,  but  not  as 
great  a  quantity  of  experience  is  insisted  upon.  In  the  case 
of  a  few  clerical  positions  the  applicants  are  assembled  for 
a  written  test. 

Institutional  positions  in  the  non-competitive  class  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes — minor  positions,  the  salaries  of 
which  are  very  low,^  the  incumbents  of  which  are  generally 
former  inmates  of  the  institution,  in  which  the  changes  of 
personnel  are  extremely  frequent,  and  over  which  the  civil 
service  commission  exercises  no  control  other  than  the  re- 


6  See  Service  Record  blank  of  New  York  Commission. 

7  New    York    Municipal    Civil    Service    Commission,    Rule    XII, 
clause  3. 

8  New  York  Municipal   Civil   Service   Commission,   Rule   XVIII, 
clause  II. 

flijsually  $120  a  year. 

40 


quirement  that  notice  of  each  appointment  and  resignation 
be  sent  promptly  to  its  office;  and  the  more  important 
positions  in  the  non-competitive  class  in  the  case  of  which 
the  civil  service  commission  not  only  rates  the  experience 
of  the  applicants  but  also  investigates  the  character  of  each 
applicant.  Definite  standards  are  formulated  for  each  posi- 
tion and  applicants  who  fail  to  meet  these  standards  are 
rejected.  In  addition,  the  civil  service  commission  makes 
certain  that  each  applicant  possesses  the  educational  re- 
quirements and  the  license  qualifications  required  for  the 
position  which  he  seeks. 

PROMOTION  EXAMINATIONS.  In  all  promotion  ex- 
aminations the  seniority  of  the  applicant  and  his  service 
record  is  given  a  weight  of  fifty  points  and  the  other  fifty 
points  are  assigned  to  the  written  examination.  In  the 
clerical  service  the  written  promotion  examination  consists 
usually  of  four  papers — questions  on  elementary  city  gov- 
lernment,  questions  on  the  duties  of  the  department  in  which 
"nhe  applicant  is  employed,  the  writing  of  a  letter  on  a  sub- 
ject related  to  the  duties  of  the  applicant's  department  and 
some  arithmetical  problems  for  the  lower  grade  positions 
and  questions  on  business  methods  for  the  higher  grade 
positions. 

It  is  difficult  to  prepare  a  written  promotioa  test  for 
clerks  whose  duties  are  so  varied  and  who  require  so  little 
technical  knowledge  in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  It 
is  believed  that  the  more  alert  and  efficient  clerks  will  know 
more  about  the  duties  of  their  own  department  and  of  the 
other  departments  of  the  city  government  by  which  they 
are  employed,  than  the  less  efficient  clerks.  The  arithmetic 
test  is  included  to  gauge  the  general  education  of  the  lower 
grade  clerks  and  a  knowledge  of  business  methods  is  of 
distinct  practical  value  in  the  case  of  the  higher  grade 
clerks. 

For  the  higher  grade  stenographers  the  exercise  in  the 
preparation  of  calendars  of  correspondence  and  the  exer- 
cise in  the  formulation  of  replies  to  letters  without  dicta- 

41 


tion  constitute  a  practical  test  of  their  ability  to  perform 
secretarial  duties.  For  all  positions  outside  of  the  clerical 
service  the  applicants  in  promotion  examinations  are  gener- 
ally given  practical  questions  relating  to  the  duties  of  the 
position  which  they  seek. 


SECTION  THREE— METHODS 

LABOR  TURNOVER.  The  labor  turnover  is  the  change 
in  personnel  brought  about  by  hiring  and  by  the  termina- 
tion of  employment.  One  of  the  ablest  employment  spe- 
cialists^  has  estimated  that  in  private  life  it  costs  about 
$73.50  to  break  in  a  new  semi-skilled  operative  and  that  the 
entire  cost  to  the  employer  of  securing,  hiring  and  adjust- 
ing a  new  employee  to  the  organization  is  frequently  as 
much  as  $500.  [3]  If  the  cost  of  the  labor  turnover  is  so 
large  in  private  life  where  the  work  of  the  employment  de- 
partment is  comparatively  simple  and  inexpensive,  and 
where  many  employees  are  engaged  in  non-specialized 
work,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  probably  much  larger  in  the 
civil  service,  where  the  examining  methods  are  complicated 
and  expensive  and  where  most  of  the  positions  are  highly 
specialized  or  at  least  sharply  differentiated  from  similar 
activities  in  privaet  life. 

CRITICAL  STUDY.  Mere  percentage  figures  of  the 
labor  turnover  mean  comparatively  little.  A  250  per  cent. 
labor  turnover  in  a  laboring  force  which  is  recruited  by 
means  of  an  elementary  medical  examination  and  which  is 
engaged  in  non-specialized  manual  work  is  of  less  impor- 
tance than  a  50  per  cent,  turnover  in  a  force  of  gymnasium 
attendants  recruited  by  means  of  elaborate  physical,  writ- 
ten, practical  and  character  tests  and  requiring  considerable 
experience  before  reaching  a  standard  grade  of  efficiency 

(i)  This  section  has  been  devoted  to  the  presentation  of  specific 
recommendations  for  the  improvement  of  the  work  of  the  Exam- 
ining Division. 

(2)  Magnus  Alexander. 

(3)  How  to  Reduce  Labor  Turnover.  Annuals  American  Acn 
demy  Social  and  Political  Science,  LXXI,  No.  160,  p.  17. 

42 


in  the  municipal  service.  Whether  the  turnover  is  due  to 
faults  of  the  departments,  to  defects  in  the  law,  or  to 
unsuccessful  methods  employed  by  the  examining  division 
of  the  civil  service  commission  cannot  be  ascertained  un- 
less a  critical  study  of  the  turnover  is  undertaken  and 
prosecuted  by  the  civil  service  commission.  Unless  such 
a  study  is  undertaken  the  v^ork  of  the  commission  will  al- 
ways be  carried  on  in  accordance  with  the  notions  of  the 
members  of  the  executive  and  the  supervising  staff  and  in 
accordance  with  the  fads,  fancies  and  foibles  of  the  ap- 
pointing officers  of  the  departments,  instead  of  in  accord- 
ance with  the  principles  which  may  be  deduced  from  the 
actual  experience  of  the  municipal  service. 

METHODS.  The  prosecution  of  such  a  critical  study 
of  the  municipal  labor  turnover  is  neither  expensive  nor 
troublesome.  An  inquiry  blank  may  be  sent  to  each  person 
leaving  the  municipal  service  by  resignation,  transfer  or  dis- 
missal, asking  for  a  statement  of  the  cause  of  separation 
and  offering  to  treat  this  reply  as  confidential.  When 
deemed  necessary  these  replies  may  be  followed  up  by  a 
personal  interview,  by  correspondence  with  the  head  of  de- 
partment or  by  further  field  investigation.  Similar  statis- 
tics should  be  compiled  from  the  records  of  the  certifica- 
tion bureau  regarding  all  appointments  in  the  municipal 
civil  service. 

These  statistics  of  entrance's  and  exits  from  the  municipal 
service  should  be  tabulated  monthly  on  a  turnover  form 
and  a  report  containing  a  critical  analysis  of  these  statis- 
tics should  be  submitted  to  he  civil  service  commission 
monthly  for  its  action  in  improving  its  own  examining 
methods  and  in  recommending  such  remedial  legislation  as 
may  be  found  necessary.  The  standard  form  in  use  by  pri- 
vate organizations'*  will  be  found  satisfactory  for  use  in 
the  municipal  service  after  a  few  headings  have  been 
changed  to  adapt  the  form  to  the  municipal  needs.     The 

(4)  See  the  two  page  Labor  Turnover  Form,  published  by  the 
Library  Bureau. 

43 


improvement  of  the  methods  of  the  examining-  division 
from  month  to  month  should  be  based  upon  this  critical 
analysis  of  the  statistics  of  the  city's  labor  turnover. 

ANTICIPATING  NEEDS  OF  SERVICE.  The  most 
elementary  principle  of  employment  management  is  that 
which  demands  that  the  needs  of  the  service  be  anticipated 
by  the  employment  department.  For  the  civil  service  com- 
mission to  be  unable  to  certify  at  any  time  competitive 
ehgible  lists  for  such  positions  as  female  stenographer  or 
first  grade  clerk  is  inexcusable.  By  a  careful  analysis  of 
the  budgets  when  they  are  being  prepared  in  September  of 
the  preceding  year,  by  a  careful  following  up  of  the  work 
of  the  municipal  authorities  engaged  in  the  creation  of  new 
positions  throughout  the  year  and  by  a  careful  check  upon 
the  work  of  the  certification  clerk  of  the  commission  in  the 
use  of  existing  eligible  lists,  the  civil  service  commission 
will  always  be  able  to  hold  examinations  promptly  and 
certify  within  a  reasonable  time  competitive  eligible  lists 
for  nearly  all  positions  in  which  vacancies  may  occur  from 
time  to  time. 

Existing  eligible  lists  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, — 
active  lists  and  inactive  lists.  The  certification  clerk  should 
report  monthly  to  the  assistant  chief  examiner  in  charge  of 
examinations  the  number  of  names  remaining  on  active 
eligible  lists  and  should  report  quarterly  or  semi-annually 
in  the  same  manner  regarding  ifiactive  eligible  lists.  By  such 
a  system  of  budget  analysis  and  control  of  certification  all  of 
the  ordinary  needs  of  the  municipal  service  may  be  antici- 
pated or  promptly  met  by  the  civil  service  commission. 

MEDICAL  EXAMINATIONS.  All  of  the  medical  ex- 
aminations of  the  civil  service  commission  with  the  exception 
of  those  for  the  police  service  and  the  fire  service  are  non- 
I  competitive  in  character  and  rudimentary  in  nature.  It 
seems  therefore  to  be  a  waste  of  the  candidates'  time  and 
an  unnecessary  expenditure  of  the  time  of  the  commission's 
medical  examiners  to  give  a  separate  non-competitive  ex- 
amination of  this  kind  to  every  candidate  each  time  that  h^ 

44 


applies  for  a  position  in  the  competitive  class.  Frequently 
the  same  person  takes  two  examinations  of  this  kind  iii  a 
single  day,  many  persons  take  several  examinations  of  this 
kind  in  a  month  and  hundreds  take  half  a  dozen  or  more 
of  these  examinations  in  a  year. 

Since  these  examinations  are  non-competitive  in  charac- 
ter it  would  seem  entirely  proper  that  a  person  who  has 
passed  the  medical  examination  of  a  specified  physical  group 
should  be  entitled  to  compete  in  the  competitive  mental  exam- 
ination for  any  position  in  this  group  within  a  specified 
period  of  six  months  or  twelve  months  without  submitting 
to  the  same  medical  examination  again.  Appropriate  certifi- 
cates may  be  issued  to  carry  this  recommendation  into  effect. 
It  is  believed  that  this  procedure  would  not  only  result  in  a 
saving  of  the  candidates's  time  and  a  saving  of  the  time 
^  of  the  commission's  medical  examiners,  but  would  also  serve 
as  a  means  of  establishing  in  the  minds  of  city  employees, 
who  constitute  the  majority  of  applicants  for  positions  in 
the  competitive  class  the  desirability  of  taking  each  year  the 
medical  qualifying  examinations  of  all  the  physical  groups 
and  of  developing  in  this  manner  the  periodical  physical 
examination  habit  which  is  of  such  great  importance  in  the 
maintenance  of  their  physical  efficiency  throughout  life. 

PRACTICAL  EXAMINATIONS.  Practical  tests  in 
which  a  complete  record  of  the  performance  of  each  candi- 
date is  permanently  preserved  are  an  excellent  measure  of 
the  applicant's  ability  to  perform  the  actual  manual  work 
of  the  position  for  which  he  is  applying.  The  only 
objection  to  their  use  is  the  fact  that  the  identity  of 
ythe  candidate  is  completely  revealed  to  the  examiner.  The 
integrity  of  the  examination  may  be  effectually  safeguarded 
by  the  appointment  of  high  grade  expert  examiners  and  by 
the  permanent  preservation  of  a  complete  record  of  each 
candidate's  performance.  The  use  of  practical  tests  by  the 
civil  service  commission  should  be  widely  extended.  For 
positions  in  which  the  incumbent  is  not  required  to  express 
himself  in  writing  in  the  actual  performance  of  his  duties 
the  practical  test  may  supplant  the  written  examination  and 

45 


for  positions  in  which  it  is  practicable  to  supplement  the 
written  examination  with  a  practical  test  this  should  be  done. 
The  high  cost  of  practical  tests  is  more  apparent  than  real ; 
when  the  cost  of  all  the  elements  of  a  written  examination 
are  carefully  computed  it  is  found  that  written  examinations 
U  are  more  expensive  than  practical  tests. 

ORAL  AND  NON-ASSEMBLED  EXAMINATIONS. 
Oral  and  non-assembled  tests  should  not  be  recommended 
by  the  examining  division  unless  the  need  for  such  a  test  is 
most  imperative.  Both  are  regarded  by  the  general  public 
with  suspicion  and  both  present  problems  of  administration 
rendering  it  extremely  difficult  for  the  commission  to  dis- 
arm this  suspicion.  When  such  tests  are  ordered  by  the 
commission  the  examining  division  should  spare  no  effort 
to  safeguard  the  examination  from  every  element  endanger- 
ing its  success,  which  human  ingenuity  can  devise.  The  re- 
commendation to  the  commission  of  high  class  experts  to 
conduct  these  tests  will  sometimes  serve  to  allay  suspicion 
to  some  extent ;  the  formulation  of  definite  standards  of  rat- 
ing in  oral  tests  will  tend  to  serve  to  maintain  the  integrity 
of  these  tests ;  the  preserving  of  a  complete  record  of  the 
reasons  given  by  each  examiner  in  support  of  his  rating  in 
each  case  will  be  found  useful  in  defending  the  ratings  when 
appeals  for  re-rating  are  presented. 

SUBSTITUTES.  When  the  commission  has  developed 
an  efficient  system  for  the  qualitative  rating  of  the  experi- 
ence of  applicants  the  principal  need  for  oral  and  non-as- 
sembled tests  will  be  removed.  When  the  experience  rating 
grades  on  a  competitive  scale  not  only  the  quantity  of  each 
applicant's  experience  but  also  the  quality  of  that  experience, 
— whether  it  was  with  an  important  organization  or  with  an 
unimportant  concern ;  whether  it  was  eminently  successful  or 
merely  satisfactory  or  even  less ;  whether  the  applicant  is 
strongly  recommended  by  his  former  employers  for  his  per- 
sonality, his  force  and  his  influence  upon  the  public  and  upon 
his  subordinates  or  has  been  found  neutral  or  lacking  in  these 
qualities, — then  there  will  be  little  further  need  of  attempt- 

46 


ing-  to  ascertain  by  means  of  a  brief  oral  interview  of  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes,  in  which  the  candidate  frequently  fails  to 
disclose  to  the  examiners  his  true  personality,  what  can  be 
much  better  determined  by  the  examiners'  qualitative  analy- 
/  sis  of  the  applicant's  life  history. 

Similarly,  since  an  examination  consisting  of  a  quantita- 
tive and  qualitative  analysis  of  the  applicants'  experience  is 
non-assembled  in  nature  there  will  be  no  further  need  in 
many  cases  of  supplementing  such  a  qualitative  and  quanti- 
tative analysis  of  experience  by  the  requirement  of  the  sub- 
mission of  a  thesis,  reg-arding  the  actual  authorship  of  which 
the  outside  public  may  be  sceptical  in  some  cases.  For  the 
maintenance  of  the  integrity  and  success  of  civil  service  ex- 
aminations it  is  not  only  necessary  that  they  be  in  fact  hon- 
estly and  fairly  conducted  in  every  detail  but  it  is  equally 
important  that  they  be  above  every  iota  of  suspicion  v^hich 
cannot  be  conclusively  overcome  by  the  civil  service  commis- 
sion. 

EXPERIENCE  RATING.  The  subject  of  experience 
was  introduced  into  the  civil  service  examining  machinery 
to  supplement  the  candidate's  performance  in  the  written 
test  by  giving  him  credits  for  such  occupation  or  training 
in  actual  work  tending  to  indicate  the  applicant's  fitness  for 
the  position  which  he  seeks  as  he  may  have  enjoyed  in  a 
school  or  college  or  by  actually  following  some  trade  or  vo- 
cation. [5]  Such  experience  cannot  be  successfully  rated  on 
a  mathematical  scale  in  the  manner  in  which  other  subjects 
of  an  examination  are  rated.  If  a  definite  number  of  points 
are  assigned  to  each  element  of  the  applicant's  experience 
che  result  will  not  be  satisfactory.  In  many  cases  such  a  sys- 
tem of  rating  will  result  in  the  appointment  of  older  men  hav- 
ing a  longer  experience  to  positions  which  younger  men 
should  fill,  both  in  the  interests  of  the  city  and  of  the  can- 
didates. 

FACTORS.  The  experience  of  each  candidate  should 
be  factored  into  such  factors  as  indirect  experience  including 

(5)  New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission.  Third  A 
nual  Report^  1885. 

47 


such  elements  as  the  appHcant's  professional  training,  un- 
related experience  such  as  employment  in  occupations  not 
tending  to  qualify  for  the  position  sought,  related  experience 
such  as  employment  in  occupations  tending  to  qualify  for  the 
position  sought  and  direct  experience  consisting  of  previous 
experience  in  the  kind  of  work  which  the  applicant  is  seek- 
ing. 

After  being  factored  the  papers  of  the  candidates  should 
be  divided  into  groups  and  the  same  percentage  assigned 
to  the  papers  of  each  group.  Only  in  this  manner  can  the 
experience  papers  be  effectively  rated  on  a  competitive  scale 
with  the  result  that  the  examiner  places  a  value  upon  the 
entire  factored  experience  of  each  applicant  instead  of  on  the 
minute  component  elements  of  the  experience  without  consid- 
eration of  their  relative  importance.  The  city  as  the  pros- 
pective employer  of  the  applicant  is  interested  in  the  finished 
product  which  is  represented  by  the  life  history  of  each  ap- 
plicant and  not  in  the  component  elements  of  the  appli- 
cant's training  and  experience,  many  of  which  may  have 
failed  to  produce  the  results  which  might  reasonably  have 
ben  expected  from  them. 

QUALITATIVE  RATING.  In  addition  to  insisting 
upon  the  group  rating  of  factored  experience  insistence 
should  also  be  placed  upon  the  qualitative  rating  of  such 
experience  in  the  case  of  all  positions  of  importance.  Al- 
though it  is  probably  an  exaggeration  to  state  that  the 
person  who  succeeds  in  obtaining  the  largest  number  of  im- 
portant positions  and  in  remaining  in  each  until  he  is  dis- 
missed will  probably  receive  the  hightest  rating  under  the 
present  system  for  the  quantitative  rating  of  experience  in 
civil  service  examinttions  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  if  there 
is  no  dismissal  in  the  applicant's  record  he  will  undoubtedly 
4receive  a  very  high  rating.  The  distinction  between  a  dis- 
missal on  account  of  unsatisfactory  work  and  a  resignation 
to  better  one's  condition  is  frequently  a  psychological  dis- 
tinction rendering  discrimination  very  difficult.  That  such 
a  system  of  rating  is  inefficient  and  unsatisfactory  is  self-evi- 
dent. 

48 


1 


To  guard  against  this  defect  in  experience  rating  the  paper 
of  each  appHcant  should  first  be  given  a  tentative  rating  by^ 
the  examiners.  Inquiries  should  next  be  addressed  by  the 
examiners  or  under  the  direction  of  the  assistant  chief  ex- 
aminer in  charge  of  rating  to  each  of  the  applicant's  principal 
former  employers  to  verify  the  applicant's  statements  re- 
garding his  employment  and  to  obtain  an  opinion  regard- 
ing the  quality  of  his  work.  When  the  former  employers 
reside  in  the  city  or  in  its  vicinity  this  information  should 
preferably  be  obtained  by  means  of  actual  field  investigation. 
The  tentative  rating  assigned  to  each  experience  paper  should 
be  fixed  as  the  final  rating  unless  as  the  result  of  the  field 
investigation  and  for  reasons  submitted  to  the  chief  exami- 
ner in  a  written  report  the  examiners  should  recommend 
its  reduction  because  of  the  unsatisfactory  quality  of  the  ap- 
plicant's experience. 

Since  the  careful  valuation  of  what  a  man  has  done  in  the 
past  is  the  best  possible  criterion  by  which  to  judge  his  proba- 
ble future  ability  the  qualitative  rating  of  experience  will  un- 
doubtedly be  considered  a  more  scientific,  a  more  accurate, 
a  fairer  and  a  safer  means  of  judging  an  applicant's  person- 
ality, force  and  influence  upon  subordinates  and  the  public 
than  can  be  obtained  in  an  oral  test  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes. 

LIBRARY.  Under  modern  conditions  every  "efficient 
orgnization  requires  an  efficient  working  library.  The  ex- 
amining division  should  be  provided  with  a  working  library 
kf  in  charge  of  a  competent  librarian.  This  library  should  con- 
tain at  least  two  standard  reference  books  on  the  work  of 
each  municipal  department^.     It  should  contain  for  the  use 

(6)  Fire  Extinguishment — Croker,  Fire  Prevention;  Kenlon,  Fire 
and  Fire  Fighters.  Fire  Prevention — Crosby,  Handbook ;  Freitag, 
Fire  Prevention.  Police — Fosdick,  European  Police  systems ;  Fuld, 
Police  Administration.  Health,  Diseases — ^Billings,  Communica- 
ble Diseases ;  Rosenau,  Preventive  Medicine.  Health  and  Child  Hy'r- 
giene — Baker,  Child  Hygiene;  Mangold,  Child  Welfare.  Health, 
Food  Inspection — Leach,  Food  Inspection  ;  Vacher,  Inspector's  Hand 
book.  Street  Cleaning — Dunphe,  Street  Cleaning;  Stearns,  Work  of 
Department.  Tenement  House — Price,  Tenement  House  Inspector; 
Veiller,  Housing  Reform.  Water  Supply — Brush,  Maintenance  of 
System;  Weston,  Waterworks  Handbook.  Charities — Devine,  Prin 
ciples  of  Relief ;  Richmond,  Social  Diagnosis.  Hospitals — New 
York,  Committee  on  Inquiry,    1913;  Hornsby,M   odern  Hospital. 

49 


of  the  examiners  questions  used  by  the  civil  service  examin- 
ing boards  in  this  country  and  by  other  examining  boards  in 
this  country.  These  questions  may  be  obtained  by  the  li- 
brarian by  means  of  the  exchange  of  the  commission's  own 
specimen  questions  which  should  be  published  and  distrib- 
uted at  regular  intervals  each  year.  The  library  should  con- 
tain the  annual  reports  and  the  printed  regulations  of  each 
t/department  of  the  city  government. 

The  library  should  contain  a  digest  of  the  most  important 
decisions  of  the  state  courts  in  civil  service  cases,  prepared 
either  by  the  librarian  or  by  a  member  of  the  examining  staff 
who  is  a  lawyer  by  profession.  Each  examiner  should  also  be 
required  to  prepare  and  file  in  this  library  a  report  giving  his 
constructive  criticisms  for  the  improvement  of  each  ex- 
amination which  he  has  rated,  after  the  rating  of  the  ex- 
amination has  been  completed  by  him.  These  reports  will 
serve  as  a  means  of  enabling  the  examiner  assigned  to  pre- 
pare the  next  examination  for  this  position  to  correct  defects 
discovered  in  the  preceding  examination  and  will  result  in  a 
continual  gradual  improvement  of  the  commission's  exam- 
/  ining  methods  as  a  result  of  this  experience. 

SERVICE  INSTRUCTION.  No  civil  service  examiner 
can  perform  the  highly  exacting  duties  of  this  specialized  po- 
sition efficiently  for  a  long  period  of  tmie  unless  he  is  as- 
sisted by  means  of  service  instruction.  The  examiner  who 
understands  most  thoroughly  the  work  of  the  departments 
whose  personnel  he  is  selecting  will  be  most  efficient  in  the 
performances  of  his  duties.  These  are  the  cardinal  princi- 
ples upon  which  a  system  of  service  instruction  for  exami- 
iuers  should  be  based.    One  Saturday  of  each  month  may  be 

f  devoted  to  service  instruction. 

The  morning  may  be  devoted  to  a  conference  of  the  ex- 
aminers at  which  difficult  problems  of  rating  and  other  per- 
plexities are  discussed  with  the  chief  examiner  and  his  as- 
sistants. At  this  monthly  conference  one  examiner  should 
also  be  required  to  prepare  a  paper  on  a  subject  previously 

>i  assigned  to  him  and  the  other  examiners  should  be  requested 

50 


to  discuss  this  paper.  Arrangements  for  an  inexpensive  de- 
partmental luncheon  at  which  the  commissioners  are  present, 
will  serve  to  develop  a  true  spirit  of  good  fellowship  among 
the  members  of  the  staff.  An  expert  in  the  employ  of  the 
city  should  be  invited  to  attend  this  luncheon  as  the  guest 
of  the  examining  board  and  to  deliver  a  brief  ad- 
dress on  the  work  of  his  department  which  may  be 
followed  by  a  discussion  by  the  members  of  the  exam- 
ining staff.  The  afternoon  may  be  devoted  to  a 
visit  to  one  of  the  institutions  of  the  city  to  enable  the 
examiners  to  study  at  first  hand  the  particular  activity 
which  is  being  carried  on  in  that  institution  and  the 
personnel  needs  of  the  institution.  Such  a  Saturday 
afternoon  trip  will  in  addition  to  possessing  educational 
value  also  possesses  recreational  value,  especially  if  summer 
arrangements  are  made  to  have  this  trip  include  a  refresh- 
ing boat  ride. 

Employees  engaged  in  such  highly  concentrated  intellectual 
activities  as  civil  service  examiners  should  also  be  afforded 
opportunities  for  healthful  relaxation  such  as  may  be  ob- 
tained by  light  gymnastics,  dancing  and  swimming  in  one  of 
the  buildings  under  the  control  of  the  city  in  the  vicinity  of 
v/the  Municipal  Building^.  The  planning  of  such  recrea- 
tional activities  would  greatly  increase  the  working  efficien- 
cy and  reduce  the  time  lost  by  reason  of  sickness  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  examining  staff'.  Time-off  under  suitable  regu- 
lations should  also  be  granted  to  examiners  desiring  to  take 
university  courses  of  instruction  directly  correlated  to  their 
work  and  directly  tending  to  increase  their  working  ef- 
ficiency.  

CHAPTER  THREE 
The  Chief  Examiner 

Progress  of  Examinations.  Each  examination  consists 
of  a  large  number  of  successive  stages, — the  preparation  of 
the  conditions  of  the  examination,  the  receipt  of  applica- 
tions, the  experience  rating,  the  medical  examination,  the 

(7)  Recreation  for  Office  Women.  American  Physical  Educa- 
tion Review,  February,  1916        qi 


written  examination,  the  rating  of  the  written  papers,  the 
practical  test,  the  oral  test,  the  compilation  of  the  eligible 
list,   the  character   investigation   and   the  promulgation   of 
the  eligible  list.     If  several  days  are  lost  between  the  com- 
pletion of  each  of  these  stages  and  the  commencement  of  the 
next  stage  of  the  examination  the  promulgation  of  the  eligi- 
ble list  will  be  considerably  delayed.    To  avoid  such  unnec- 
essary delay  each  employee  of  the  commission  should  be 
required  to  report  to  a  progress  clerk  in  the  office  of  the 
chief  examiner,  before  the  close  of  business  each  day,  on 
forms  provided  for  that  purpose  the  completion  of  any  stage 
of  the  examination  for  which  that  employee  is  responsible. 
Forms  calling  attention  to  the  completion  of  one  stage 
of  each  of  these  examinations  should  be  prepared  by  the 
progress  clerk  and  placed  on  the  desk  of  the  chief  examiner 
before   the   beginning   of    business    on   the    following   day. 
When  these  forms  have  been  filled  out  and  signed  by  the 
chief   examiner   at   the   commencement   of   the   next   day's 
business  and  have  been  distributed  among  the  proper  em- 
ployees they  serve  as  assignments  and  directions  to  proceed 
with  the  next  stage  of  each  examination  without  any  delay. 
In  the   aggregate  it  is  believed  that  this  system   will   re- 
sult in  the  saving  of  several  weeks  in  the  time  required  for 
the  promulgation  of  the  average  eligible  list. 

Control  of  Salaries.  The  present  system  under  which 
the  salaries  of  all  positions  in  the  municipal  service  are  fixed 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Bureau  of  Personal  Serv- 
ice of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment,  an  in- 
dependent city  department,  is  very  unsatisfactory  from  the 
point  of  view  of  practical  civil  service  administration.  The 
present  practice  of  that  department  in  regarding  salaries 
which  have  once  been  fixed  by  it  as  not  subject  to  fluctuation 
renders  this  system  even  less  workable.  The  civil  serv- 
ice commission  which  is  charged  by  law  with  the  duty  of 
establishing  eligible  lists  of  persons  competent  to  perform 
the  various  duties  required  of  municipal  employees^  can- 


(8)     State  of  NewYork,  Laws  of  1909,  chapter  15,  section  14. 
Consolidated  Laws,  chapter  7,  section  4. 


not  successfully  fulfill  this  function  if  the  salary  offered 
by  the  city  is  insufficient  to  attract  competent  candidates. 
The  entire  spirit  of  the  merit  system  may  be  defeated  by 
this  device. 

A  personal  acquaintance  of  the  appointing  officer  may 
be  induced  to  accept  a  position  at  less  than  its  fair  market 
value  by  the  promise  of  a  liberal  increase  in  compensa- 
tion at  an  early  date  or  by  the  promise  of  additional  com- 
pensation from  a  private  source.  Even  if  there  is  no  such 
promise  on  the  part  of  the  appointing  officer  the  principle 
of  the  merit  system  is  violated  when  the  civil  service  com- 
mission is  unable,  because  of  the  inadequate  salary  offered 
for  the  position,  to  obtain  eligibles  as  the  result  of  com- 
petition and  the  selection  of  an  inferior  employee  at  the 
low  salary  offered  is  left  to  the  appointing  officer.  With 
its  wealth  of  experience  gained  as  the  result  of  holding 
examinations  for  all  positions  for  a  long  period  of  years 
the  civil  service  commission  is  better  able  to  fix  salaries 
than  any  other  department  of  the  municipal  government  can 
possibly  hope  to  be  and  the  results  of  its  continuing  expe- 
rience from  day  to  day  enables  it  to  adjust  these  salaries 
to  the  market  flucuations  of  labor  in  the  various  fields  of 
employment,  as  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  com- 
pensation rates  of  labor  fluctuate  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
commodity  rates  of  staple  products. 

Promotion  Examinations.  For  the  development  of  the 
system  of  promotion  examinations  three  principles  must  be 
borne  in  mind, — simplification,  standardization  and  fairness. 
It  is  believed  that  the  efficiency  of  the  promotion  system 
would  be  increased  by  the  simplification  of  the  promotion 
examinations.  For  promotion  from  the  labor  class  to  the 
competitive  class  the  written  examination  should  be  supple- 
mented by  a  practical  test  wherever  it  is  possible  to  do  so. 
Of  even  greater  importance  is  it  that  the  written  examina- 
tion should  be  within  the  intellectual  range  of  the  candi- 
dates. The  questions  should  be  made  up  of  simple  Anglo- 
Saxon  words  and  should  be  susceptible  of  short  direct  an- 

53 


swers  indicating  to  the  examiner  whether  the  candidate 
knows  the  principle  involved  in  the  question  or  not.  Ques- 
tions requiring  of  the  candidate  an  ability  to  describe  pro- 
cesses, to  express  opinions  on  methods  and  procedures,  and 
to  define  terms  are  not  suitable  for  examinations  of  this 
grade.  They  are  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the  can- 
didates and  an  ability  to  answer  them  is  not  required  for  the 
efficient  performance  of  duties  which  are  manual  or  sub- 
clerical  in  character,  such  as  the  duties  of  a  mesenger,  a 
foreman,  a  stationary  engineer  or  the  like. 

It  is  also  likely  that  by  reducing  the  number  of  question 
papers  in   the  clerical  promotion   examinations   from   four 
to  two,  without  narrowing  the  content  or  scope  of  the  ex- 
amination many  economies  of  administration  could  be  ef- 
fected.    The  questions  on  the   duties   of  co-operating  de- 
partments and  on  business  methods  may  be  combined  in  a 
single  General  Paper  in  the  morning  session  and  the  ques- 
tions on  the  -duties  of  the  department  in  which  the  candi- 
date is  employed  and  the  writing  of  a  letter  may  be  com- 
bined in  a  single  Duties  Paper  in  the  afternoon.     In  the 
case  of  the  promotion  examinations  in  the  Fire  Department, 
in  which  many  of  the  most  capable  officers   are  deficient 
in  literary  ability  it  would  be  desirable  to  institute  addi- 
tional practical  tests.    For  promotion  to  the  rank  of  engineer 
of  steamer  the  candidates  are  given  a  practical  test  in  the 
operation  of  the  steamer  or  engine.     It  may  be  found  prac- 
ticable to  test  the   executive  ability   of   applicants   for  the 
position  of  captain  by  having  the  company  which  has  been 
trained  by  each  candidate  perform  its  standard  fire-fighting 
evolutions  under  the  direction  of   the  candidate  and   rate 
his  executive  ability  on  this  test.     Such  practical  tests  and 
the  formation  of  practical  duties  papers  in  promotion  ex- 
aminations tend  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  all  municipal 
employees.     This  is  a  very  valuable  by-product  of  an  ef- 
yficient  system  of  promotion  examinations. 

Standardization.     The  standardization  of  promotion  ex- 
aminations would  render  it  possible  for  each  applicant  to 

54 


know  in  advance  the  ground  which  his  promotion  exami- 
nation will  cover.  This  would  enable  each  candidate  to 
make  intelligent  and  adequate  preparation  for  his  examina- 
tion and  would  eliminate  every  excuse  for  seeking  private 
or  secret  information.  The  publication  and  wide  distri- 
bution of  sample  questions  of  all  promotion  examinations 
in  which  a  large  number  of  candidates  compete  would  be 
of  great  assistance  in  connection  with  such  standardiza- 
tion. Nor  would  such  standardization  result  in  stagnation. 
The  commission  would  be  at  liberty  to  change  or  improve 
the  plan  of  examination  at  any  time;  the  standard  ex- 
amination would  be  followed  only  until  changed  by  the  com- 
mission, of  which  due  notice  would  be  given. 

In  the  promotion  examinations  in  the  uniformed  forces 
of  the  police  and  fire  departments  there  is  urgent  need  for 
the  standardization  of  the  rating  of  seniority.  At  present 
the  method  of  rating  is  determined  by  the  civil  service  com- 
mission in  advance  of  each  examination.  The  result  is  tha 
since  the  method  of  rating  is  frequently  changed  candidates 
are  often  injuriously  affected  by  the  liberal  seniority  rating 
of  one  promotion  examination  which  favors  the  older  men 
and  then  injured  again  in  the  next  examination  which  they 
take  for  promotion  to  the  same  rank  by  the  illiberal  seniori- 
ty rating  which  favors  the  younger  men.  In  the  case  of 
employees  who  definitely  make  the  city  service  their  life 
work  as  do  the  policemen  and  firemen  such  injustice  due 
/to  a  lack  of  standardization  is  a  serious  matter. 

Fairness.  To  insure  to  each  candidate  a  fair  and  equal 
chance  in  a  promotion  examination  the  system  of  rating 
seniority  and  the  keeping  of  service  records  should  be  im- 
proved. No  credit  should  be  given  for  seniority  for  a  longer 
period  than  is  required  to  enable  the  average  employee  in 
the  lower  rank  to  qualify  by  experience  for  the  next  higher 
rank.  More  credit  for  -employees  is  a  condition  seri- 
ously detrimental  to  efficiency.  Longer  service  in  a  lower 
rank  gives  the  incumbent  added  experience  which  should  be 

55 


A 


reflected  in  his  ability  to  answer  the  technical  questions  of 
the  examination,  if  Tie  has  benefited  by  his  additional  ex- 
perience. 

In  the  case  of  most  promotion  examinations  for  important 
positions  an  employee  is  designated  by  the  head  of  depart- 
ment to  perform  the  duties  of  the  higher  position  pending 
the  holding  and  rating  of  the  promotion  examination.  Such 
a  temporary  assignment  is  necessary  because  the  work  of 
the  department  must  be  carried  on  during  this  interval.  This 
temporary  incumbent  enjoys,  however,  not  only  the  added 
knowledge  and  experience  gained  by  this  temporary  as- 
signment but  in  addition  he  is  usually  given  a  higher  service 
rating  for  the  satisfactory  performance  of  the  duties  of  this 
higher  position  and  frequently  he  is  also  an  old  employee 
who  has  a  high  rating  for  seniority. 

Coupled  to  these  advantages  is  the  circumstance  that  the 
civil  service  commission  in  promotion  examinations  of  this 
kind  frequently  asks  questions  relating  to  budgetary  and 
personnel  problems  with  which  no  candidate  other  than  the 
temporary  incumbent  can  possibly  be  thoroughly  acquainted. 
Under  such  a  system  of  promotion  examinations  for  the 
higher  positions  the  entire  competitive  principle  is  destroyed 
and  the  examination  becomes  a  mere  formality  to  give  legal 
sanction  to  the  designation  made  by  the  appointing  officer 
to  the  higher  position.  In  all  promotion  examinations  no 
special  credit  should  be  given  on  the  service  record  for 
the  efficient  performance  of  the  duties  of  a  superior  po- 
sition held  pending  a  promotion  examination  and  no  ques- 
tions should  be  asked  which  are  peculiarly  within  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  temporary  incumbent.  Such  a  revision  of  exam- 
ination practice  is  absolutely  necessary  to  obtain  and  retain 
the  confidence  of  the  employees  in  promotion  examinations 
for  important  administrative  positions. 

Sennce  Records.  The  system  of  service  records  which 
has  recently  been  introduced  by  the  civil  service  commission 
is  based  upon  sound  scientific  principles  [9]  and  is  undoubt- 


(9)   New  York  Municipal  Civil  Service  Commission,  Regulation 
XIII. 

56 


edly  the  most  elaborate  system  of  service  records  in  force 
at  the  present  day.  If  this  system  is  to  be  continued  the  ex- 
aminers of  the  commission  assigned  to  act  as  official  advis- 
ers to  departmental  personnel  boards  should  be  required  to 
formulate  definite  standards  for  the  guidance  of  the  rating 
officers  in  the  case  of  each  class  of  employees.  This  will 
involve  a  tremendous  amount  of  detail  work  but  it  is  ab- 
solutely essential  under  the  present  system.  The  danger  of 
permitting  a  large  number  of  rating  officers  to  grade  em- 
ployees above  and  below  standard  when  that  standard  has 
never  been  definitely  fixed  and  varies  in  each  rating  unit  is 
apparent  to  everyone. 

No  private  organization  would  attempt  to  administer  such 
an  elaborate  and   extensive  service  record  system  as   that 
which  is  being  used  in  the  City  of  New  York  at  present. 
Most  private  organizations  confine  their  service  record  sys- 
tems to  the  recording  of  exceptionally  meritorious  conduct 
and  the  recording  of  acts  of  delinquency  at  such  times  as 
they  may  occur  in  the  official  career  of  each  employee.  This  is 
believed  adequate  and  sufficient  for  purposes  of  advance- 
ment in  salary,  promotion   in  rank,   lay-oflf  and  dismissal. 
It  seems  to  be  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  it  is  unnecessary 
and  wasteful  to  rate  each  employee  at  regular  intervals  of 
three  or  four  times  a  year  when  his   services  are  merely 
normal  and  satisfactory.  [lo]     If  it  is  believed  that  the  pub- ' 
lie  service  differs  so  much  from  private  employment  in  this 
respect  and  requires  the  rating  of  all  employees  at  regular 
intervals  of  three  or  four  times  a  year  it  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial that  the  standards  of  satisfactory  service  in  each  branch 
of  the  service  be  accurately  defined  for  the  use  of  rating 
officers.     These  standards  of   satisfactory   service  are  the 
norms  to  which  all  other  ratings  are  referred  and  an  un- 
defined norm  is  meaningless  and  dangerous. 

To  be  susceptible  of  successful  administration,  an  elabor- 
ate service  record-system  must  record  not  only  the  quality 
and  the  quantity  of  each  employee's  work  but  must  pay  at- 

(lo)  Discussion  on  Efficiency  Records,  National  Assembly  of 
Civil  Service  Commissions,  1916,  page  18. 

57 


tention  also  to  his  adaptability, — his  fitness  for  higher  work. 
[ii]  It  must  galvanize  the  interest  of  the  employees  in 
the  service  record  system  by  making  provision  for  the  pub- 
licity of  the  records,  for  the  consideration  of  appeals  from 
the  ratings  and  for  tangible  rewards  for  high  efficiency  rat- 
ings. Letters  of  commendation  and  letters  of  reprimand 
based  on  the  service  records  are  efficient  methods  of  gal- 
vanizing interest  in  the  system  [12]  ;  days  off  and  additional 
days  of  vacation  for  high  service  ratings  are  even  more  ef- 
fective. [13]    [14] 

Planning  of  Work.  The  work  of  the  examining  division 
should  be  carefully  planned  for  each  month  of  the  ensuing 
year  at  the  time  when  the  annual  budget  is  prepared  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  preceding  year.  Such  a  systematic  and  careful 
planning  is  conducive  to  the  efficient  administration  of  the 
examining  division.  It  will  prevent  the  examiners  from 
dawdling  over  their  work  in  the  idle  fear  that  the  services 
of  some  of  them  may  be  temporarily  dispensed  with  owing 
to  a  shortage  of  papers  to  be  rated  and  will  lessen  the  ne- 
cessity of  speeding  the  work  of  the  examiners  because  of 
pressure  of  business.  It  will,  by  a  judicious  distribution  of 
the  work  of  the  examining  division  over  a  cycle  of  four 
years,  during  which  the  life  of  an  eligible  list  may  be  per- 
mitted to  continue  under  the  law,  [15]  prevent  the  occur- 
rence of  lean  years  and  reduce  to  a  minimum  the  likelihood 
of  some  years  being  excessively  busy. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  such  a  prearranged  calendar 
will  be  followed  out  throughout  the  year.  Many  examina- 
tions must  be  ordered  each  year  which  it  is  impossible  to 
foresee   at   budget-making   time.      These   examinations   are 


(11)  Public  Office  From  a  Business  Point  of  View.     Hopper, 
page  10. 

(12)  Efficiency  Records   in   the  Civil  Service.     American  City, 
March,  191 1. 

(13)  Efficiency   Records    for    Department    Stores.     Dry    Goods 
Guide,  March,  1915.  -, 

(14)  Efficiency    Records    for    Policemen.      National    MunicipcAk 
Review,  January,  1916. 

(15)  State  of  New  York,  Laws  of  1909,  chapter  15,  section  14, 
Consolidated  Laws,  chapter  7,  section  14. 

58 


called  for  newly  created  positions,  for  unexpected  increases 
in  personnel  and  to  replenish  eligible  lists  which  have  been 
unexpectedly  exhausted.  Each  of  these  extraordinary  needs 
may  be  fitted  into  the  calendar  of  the  examining  division's 
work,  either  in  spaces  reserved  for  such  cases  or  by  trans- 
ferring to  new  dates,  other  examinations  on  the  calendar. 

Specialisation.  There  is  need  for  greater  specialization 
of  work  in  the  examining  division.  Such  supecialization 
should  be  informal  rather  than  formal.  It  should  be  de- 
veloped by  the  most  careful  and  discriminating  use  of  the 
power  of  assignment  by  the  chief  examiner,  by  a  study  of 
the  individual  capability  and  personal  preference  of  each 
member  of  the  examining  staff  and  by  service  instruction, 
rather  than  by  formal  designation.  The  adoption  by  the 
commission  of  a  classification  based  upon  scientific  princi- 
ples will  be  an  aid  to  such  specialization  as  well  as  to  the 
proper  development  of  the  promotion  system. 

The  chief  exanjiner  should  not  hesitate  to  deviate  from 
such  specialized  assignments  whenever  in  his  judgment  the 
interests  of  the  service  will  be  benefited  thereby.  Too  much 
formal  specialization  among  the  examiners  is  dangerous, 
both  because  it  will  detract  from  the  breadth  of  the  examina- 
tions and  because  it  will  localize  too  narrowly  the  activities 
of  the  division,  with  respect  to  each  class  of  examination. 


CHAPTER  THREE 
The  Chief  Examiner 

Importance  of  Position,  The  chief  examiner  is  more 
than  the  principal  subordinate  of  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission. He  is  more  than  the  chief  executive  of  the 
examining  division.  He  is  more  than  the  guardian  and 
defender  of  the  merit  system  in  the  City  of  New  York.  He 
is  in  charge  of  the  employment  department  of  a  municipal 
corporation  employing  more  than  fifty  thousand  men  and 
women  ^  ranging  from  cleaners  to  sanitary  superintendents 

(i)  New    York    Municipal    Service    Commission,    Thirty-eighth 
Annual  Report,  page  88. 

59 


and  from  office  boys  to  chief  engineers.  The  efficient  per- 
formance of  the  duties  of  a  position  of  such  great  import- 
ance requires  qualifications  of  an  unusually  high  order. 

Qualifications.  The  chief  examiner  should  be  a  man 
of  large  vision  without  however  being  a  visionary.  He 
should  be  a  graduate  in  arts  or  in  science  of  a  well-recog- 
nized college,  since  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a  man  to 
possess  the  breadth  of  view  required  for  this  position  unless 
he  has  enjoyed  the  broad  general  culture  of  a  college  edu- 
>w:ation.  H'e  should  have  demonstrated  in  his  college  course 
such  evidence  of  superior  scholarship  as  is  indicated  by 
election  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa.  His  college  education  should 
be  supplemented  by  post-graduate  research  work  leading 
to  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  a  university  of 
recognized  standing.  Because  of  the  many  legal  problems 
arising  in  the  daily  routine  of  the  chief  examiner's  duties 
he  should  also  be  a  graduate  in  law  and  a  member  of  the 
Bar.  To  be  able  to  understand  and  interpret  intelligently 
the  problems  connected  with  the  administration  of  med- 
ical and  physical  examinations  he  should  possess  at  least  so 
much  knowledge  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  medical 
examinations  as  may  be  obtained  by  pursuing  courses  in 
anthropometry  and  physical  diagnosis  such  as  constitute  a 
minor  course  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  a 
university  of  recognized  standing. 

Above  all  else  he  must  possess  the  widest  possible 
knowledge  of  the  principles  and  the  details  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment. This  knowledge  should  be  both  theoretical  and 
practical.  The  theoretical  knowledge  should  be  such  as 
may  be  obtained  by  pursuing  a  major  course  in  the  prin- 
ciples 6f  municipal  government  as  a  candidate  for  the 
'  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy;  the  practical  knowledge 
should  be  such  as  may  be  obtained  by  an  intensive  study 
of  one  branch  of  municipal  administration  and  by  a  thor- 
ough field  study  of  all  the  branches  of  the  city  government. 
He  should  possess  such  a  standing  in  the  field  of  municipal 
administration,  because  of  his  research  work  in  this  field 

60 


and  irrespective  of  his  official  position  that  he  will  be  re- 
quested to  prepare  papers  and  write  reviews  for  periodicals 
of  recognized  standing  in  this  field.  He  should  possess 
such  a  standing  in  the  field  of  employment  management 
that  his  advice  and  assistance  will  be  sought  by  executives 
of'  private  corjwrations  as  well  as  by  municipal  officials.^ 
Such  requests  will  be  of  distinct  advantage  to  the  Civil 
Service  Commission,  not  only  in  dignifying  its  chief  exami- 
ner but  more  particularly  in  compelling  him  to  keep  him- 
self thoroughly  informed  of  all  progress  in  the  field  of. 
municipal  administration  and  of  employment  management 
throughout  the  country. 

Personally  the  chief  examiner  should  be  a  man  of 
undoubted  integrity,  whose  every  act  is  not  only  morally 
sound  but  entirely  above  suspicion.  He  should  be  unmar- 
ried, or  if  married,  should  possess  sufficient  independent 
means  to  make  himself  at  least  semi-independent  of  his 
official  salary  as  a  means  of  support.  ^ 

Relation  to  Commission.  The  chief  examiner  may 
assume  one  of  three  attitudes  in  his  relation  to  the  Com- 
mission. He  may  be  a  fawn,  a  straight-back  or  a  stabilizer. 
The  fawning  chief  examiner  is  the  most  dangerous  type 
for  the  welfare  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission.  Such  a 
chief  examiner  hails  with  delight  and  approval  every  sug- 
gestion of  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  whether  it  is  in 
the  interests  of  sound  civil  service  administration  or  not. 
With  a  view  to  currying  favor  with  the  Commission  he  car- 
ries out  without  comment  every  order  of  the  Commission 
and  lets  the  inevitable  unfavorable  comment  resulting  from 
the  inauguration  of  unsound  methods  fall  with  full  weight 
upon  the  Commission  which  instituted  those  methods. 

The  chief  examiner  may  be  a  straight-backed  and 
straight-laced  individual  who  finds  improper  motives  in 
every  act  of  the  Commission  and  deems  it  his  duty  to  point 
out  defects  and  improprieties  in  a  large  number  of  resolu- 

(2)  Salaries  and  Promotion,  Survey,  1912,  page  125. 

(3)  Most  of  the  qualifications  enumerated  in  this  section  were 
possessed  by  the  late  chief  examiner  of  the  New  York  Municipal 
Civil  Service  Commission. 

6l 


tions  of  the  Commission.  Such  a  chief  examiner  is  the 
most  uncomfortable  for  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  Civil  Ser- 
vice Commissioners.  He  is  an  endless  source  of  friction 
and  annoyance  to  the  Civil  Service  Commissioners,  to  the 
candidates  and  to  the  appointing  officers.  Well-intentioned 
though  he  may  be,  he  will  tend  to  throw  the  entire  civil 
service,  if  not  indeed  the  entire  municipal  government  into 
discord  and  confusion. 

The  ideal  chief  examiner  will  with  breadth  of  vision 
scrutinize  every  act  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  point- 
ing out  to  the  Commission  in  a  respectful  manner  any 
action  by  the  Commission  which  may  in  his  opinion  be  con- 
trary to  the  principles  of  the  merit  system,  which  may  be 
dangerous  in  practice  or  which  may  lead  to  unfavorable 
comment  or  criticism.  He  will  act  as  the  defender  of  the 
principles  of  the  merit  system  with  all  his  power  to  the  full  y 
extent  that  his  position  as  the  principal  subordinate  of  the 
Commission  will  allow.  He  will  however  not  only  point  out 
these  dangers  to  the  Commission  but  he  will  also  endeavor 
tc  point  out  remedies  for  each  danger.  He  will  prepare 
recommendations  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  Commis- 
sion in  a  manner  consistent  with  sound  civil  service  admin- 
istration.   He  will  be  a  stabilizer  and  not  an  obstructionist. 

Relation  to  Departments.  In  his  relations  with  depart- 
ments the  chief  examiner  will  act  as  an  expert  adviser  in 
matters  of  personnel.  He  will  endeavor  by  his  advice,  by 
his  official  reports  and  by  his  routine  administration  of  his 
office  to  expedite  the  work  of  the  city  departments  in  every 
possible  way.  He  will  interfere  as  little  as  possible  with 
the  internal  affairs  of  the  departments  and  with  the  admin- 
istrative discretion  of  the  appointing  officers.  He  will  en- 
deavor to  maintain  cordial  personal  relations  with  appoint- 
ing officers  with  a  view  to  facilitating  the  transaction  of 
official  business.  He  will  extend  to  appointing  officers  every 
courtesy  consistent  with  the  proper  administration  of  the 
civil  service  law,  and  if  requested  to  do  so  he  will  give 
them   such  assistance  in  matters  of  personnel  outside  of 

62 


office  hours  as  he  may  be  requested  to  furnish,  even  if  such 
requests  are  clearly  extra-legal,  provided  that  they  are  not 
illegal. 

In  all  of  his  relations  with  appointing  officers  he  will 
however  always  maintain  that  position  of  dignified  superior- 
ity which  a  superior  officer  should  at  all  times  maintain 
toward  an  officer  subordinate  in  rank.  He  should  be  sin- 
cerely cordial  without  being  familiar.  He  should  be 
approachable  at  all  times  without  being  a  "mixer."  He 
should  act  as  a  friend  and  a  personal  adviser  without  losing 
sight  of  the  fact  that  he  is  the  chief  examiner  of  the  Civil 
Service  Commission. 

Office  Management.  In  the  management  of  his 
office  the  chief  examiner  should  at  all  times  blend  demo- 
cracy with  officer-like  dignity  and  efficiency.  His  examiners 
should  be  made  to  feel  that  they  have  the  privilege  of  con- 
sulting him  at  any  time  on  any  subject,  but  should  be 
encouraged  to  obtain  from  the  assistant  chief  examiners 
and  from  the  chief  examiner's  private  secretary  such  rou- 
tine information  as  they  may  be  able  to  give  them.  Appoint- 
ing officers  should  be. permitted  to  confer  with  him  at  any 
iime  with  a  miniumm  of  formality.  Any  employee  in  the 
municipal  service  should  also  have  the  privilege  of  talking 
to  the  chief  examiner  whenever  he  desires  to  do  so,  but  in 
the  interest  of  efficient  office  administration  some  limitation 
must  be  placed  upon  this  privilege,  since  otherwise  a  large 
amount  of  the  chief  examiner's  time  will  be  wasted  by  the 
according  of  this  privilege.  Such  limitation  may  be  made 
by  requiring  that  city  employees  desiring  routine  informa- 
tion must  obtain  it  from  the  chief  examiner's  secretary  and 
that  any  city  employee  who  wishes  to  speak  to-  the  chief 
examiner  personally  must  either  see  him  during  an  office 
hour  reserved  for  that  purpose  each  week  or  make  an 
appointment  to  see  him. 

However  much  we  may  admire  the  simple  democracy 
of  a  chief  examiner  who  may  be  seen  by  anybody  at  any 
time  the  following  of  such  a  practice  is  neither  in  accord 

63 


with  the  principles  of  efficient  office  administration  nor  with 
the  importance  and  dignity  of  the  chief  examiner's  posi- 
tion. With  due  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  city,  the 
chief  examiner  should  not  fritter  away  his  own  time  in 
attending  to  matters  to  which  his  private  secretary  can 
attend,  nor  should  he  lower  the  dignity  of  his  position  by 
mixing  too  freely  with  the  employees  in  the  service.  He  is 
an  officer  of  the  highest  rank  and  familiarity  between  offi- 
cers and  subordinates  is  never  to  be  encouraged.  Cordiality 
may  be  developed  by  an  officer's  manner  and  by  an  officer's 
acts  without  laying  himself  open  to  the  charge  of  undue 
familiarity. 

Conclusion.  It  is  conceded  by  all  students  of  muni- 
cipal government  that  police  work  is  always  unpopular. 
No  one  likes  the  hand  that  jails  him.  Whenever  the  police 
perform  a  police  function  they  incur  the  enmity  of  one  of 
the  two  conflicting  interests  which  they  separate'*.  Civil 
service  work  is  from  many  points  of  view  inter-depart- 
mental municipal  police  work.  On  this  account  it  is  not 
at  all  strange  that  it  is  far  from  popular.  Appointing  offi- 
cers adopt  the  same  attitude  toward  the  civil  service  admin- 
istration that  the  general  public  maintains  toward  the  tax 
collector.  As  the  citizen  who  is  otherwise  honest  boasts  of 
his  ability  in  outwitting  the  tax  collector,  so  the  appointing 
officer  otherwise  upright  feels  no  compunction  in  defeating 
the  objects  of  the  civil  service  law  in  so  far  as  the  Civil 
Service  Commissioner  and  the  chief  examiner  will  permit. 

As  long  as  this  attitude  toward  the  civil  service  admin- 
istration is  prevalent  the  chief  examiner  cannot  hope  to  be 
a  popular  man  while  he  is  performing  the  duties  of  his 
position  conscientiously.  Hie  must  get  his  reward  from  his 
own  feeling  of  satisfaction  over  duties  efficiently  and  con- 
scientiously performed.  He  must  be  reconciled  to  the  fact 
that  his  official  position  will  not  permit  him  to  cultivate 
friendship    by   extending   little   courtesies    which   in   other 


(4)  Difficulty  of  police  Administration,  Newark   Evening  News, 
October  14,  191 1. 


walks  of  life  are  regarded  as  proper,  but  which  in  civil  i^ 
service  administration  are  highly  improper.  He  must  realize 
that  he  is  performing  a  difficult  administrative  service  as 
vitally  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  an  efficient  munici- 
pal government  as  is  the  police  service  for  the  maintewance 
of  the  city's  peace  and  quiet. 

The  chief  examiner  must  be  prepared  to  realize  that 
his  position  is  a  thankless  job,  a  position  which  is  not  con- 
ducive to  popularity  and  one  which  may  well  lead  to  the  fate 
of  Aristides  who  was  banished  from  Athens  because  the 
people  were  tired  of  hearing  him  everywhere  called  "The 
Just."  ^  But  if  such  a  fate  should  be  the  lot  of  the  chief 
examiner  it  is  certain  that  like  Aristides  he  will  be  recalled 
from  his  banishment  as  soon  as  the  people  realize  by  anti- 
thesis the  value  of  the  services  of  a  just,  thoroughly  compe- 
tent and  efficient  chief  examiner. 


(5)     Plutarch's  Lives,  Clough,  page  233. 

65 


^Av    '"'^''^'^srro    °*''^  "I'e.  thI°  "^""N 


'^7/33 


Binder 

Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT.  JAN  21,  1908 


-    56941 G 

M 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

